The Darkness Inside Us
by BubbleBear
Summary: Thrown into a new world, Naruto despairingly tries to find his purpose in living. What could a world with mages possibly show to our blonde hero? Can he find his ninja way again in Fairy Tail... or his newly acquired power will consume him first? More serious Naruto.
1. Prologue 1

**The Darkness Inside Us**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

"Regular Speech"

_'Regular Thoughs'_

**"Demon/Monster Speech; Spell and Jutsu names"**

**_'Demon/Monster Thoughts'_**

Hello **Everyone** and welcome to my very first fanfiction! English is not my main language but I'll do my best to correct any kind of misunderstandigs . I'm a person who likes to learn from his mistakes, so any kind of help pointing them out will be appreciated.

Pairing: Naruto x Erza Knightwalker

Some informations before starting the story:  
*****The villagers accepted Naruto from the beginning.  
*****Itachi never killed his clan and the Uchihas stayed loyal to Konoha.  
*****Danzou does not exists.  
*****The Prologue takes place (more or less) in the Naruto-verse.

Now let's begin! Enjoy!

* * *

**Introduction Arc**

**Prologue:** Chapter 0.2

Konohagakure...the hidden village of the Land of Fire, founded by Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. Konoha is one of the most powerful village located in the Elemental Nations with strong shinobis living within its wall. The place was quiet and empty. Only a few Shinobi were awake while guarding their post from any possible threat. But right after the sun started to rise, the viliage immediately changed. Voices filled the once empty streets and everyone went to work with enthusiasm.

It was 6am when a little alarm clock started to ring in a small apartment. Later, a quiet groan could be heared in the bed as a hand-made its way towards the object. Soon, a little boy started to wake up slowly, as he disabled his clock, made his bed and prepeared himself for a new but important day...

"Today's the day, huh? Just watch... Mom, Dad, today I show both of you..." says the boy as he clenched his fists while a smile formed on his face.

He is Uzumaki Naruto. A 12 years old Academy Student, who's ready to take his final exams and become a true Shinobi. After changing clothes to his regular Grey jumpsuit, (same as in the original Naruto but the Orange part is Grey) Naruto started to prepare himself for his "hopefully" last day at the academy. He left his apartment and started to walk towards a small restaurant. Sitting down on one of the chair's, Naruto smiled at the owner of the Ichiraku Ramen.

"Good morning, Teuchi-jiji!"

"Ah, hey Naruto! How's my best costumer doing today?"

"Fine I guess, but I'm still a bit tired. Where's Ayame-neesan?" asked the blond.

"She went to buy some groceries, she'll be back soon." says Teuchi while giving him a bowl of ramen.

"Thanks!" says Naruto as he started to eat his first bowl while thinking about the past.

He was only 8 years old when Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage told him why everyone in the village treated him like some kinda hero. The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato and also Naruto's father sealed the Kyuubi inside him, saying that he believe's Naruto can control it and will bring peace to the world. Soon, the old Hokage told everything to the villagers about the little boy and if they hurt or even treat him bad, there's no guarantee that Naruto can hold the Kyuubi back. Hiruzen also told the 8 years old boy about his mother being the previous container of the beast. These informations shocked the little Uzumaki. He needed almost an entire month to accept, process and understand everything the Third Hokage told him, but after that, he completely changed. He accepted his fate, promised that he'll make his parents proud by becoming a Shinobi and to make sure that he will keep the Nine-Tailed Beast in check.

* * *

Flashback: **1 year ago**

11 years old Naruto woke up in a strange sewer-like place. He wanted to say something but he couldn't because he heard a growl at the end of the corridor. With full of curiosity, he started to walk towards the sound. Right after he reached the source of it, he understood the situation clearly.

"So you must be the Nine-tailed fox, Kyuubi... am I right?" says the blond while readying himself for anything.

**"Ooh... you kinda surprised me little one. You're not afraid of me?"** told the Kyuubi while a smirk appeared on his face.

"Why should I? As far as you're in that cage, I have nothing to afraid of!" says Naruto determinedly.

**"Hahahahaha... That's more like it... how amusing... but to tell you the truth, your body tells me otherwise, ****you're shaking!"**

"Maybe, but it's not everyday that someone can see a powerful creature like you."

**"Creature, huh?"**

"Well, sorry about that, it was kind of a bad start. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet ya!" he said while smiling.

**"How can you smile at me? I heard everything about what that old geezer told you. You already know I was the one ****who caused your parents death, so why?"**

"Yes, and I'll never forgive you what you've done, but I can't do anything about the past. That's why, instead of hating each other, I want to know more about you and maybe...maybe... we can become friends later!" says Naruto cheerfully

**_'What is he thinking? After what I've done...'_** though the Kyuubi as he couldn't believe what he just heard. **"What if I'll decide I want to rip off that seal from my cage, what will you do?"** asked the beast.

"Then I'll stop you with everything I've got! My parents left me with this task and I'll do anything to protect the village if you decide to attack it!" said the blond, shocking the Tailed Beast.

**"So it really IS you..."**

"Huh?"

**"Forget it. Alright, I'll play your game, but only if you never go back on your words and do anything to protect ****your loved ones..."** says the Kyuubi as he smiled at our blond hero.

"Of course! That's my Nindo after all!" smirked Naruto.

**"Hahahahaha...That's right! I want to see how far you can go and maybe help you a little. I never thought that a ****Meatbag like you can be this interesting, here..."** He moved his fist towards a confused Naruto.

**"Come on, hurry up while I'm in the mood!"**

Naruto immediately understood it and raised his right hand only an inch from the Kyuubi's.

"Thanks, Kyuubi!"

**"Leave the "Kyuubi" crap! My name is Kurama!"**

"Then again, my name is Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet ya!" says the boy as they bumped their fists. Right after that a red light absorbed the place, waking Naruto up at his apartment in the process.

_'I'm looking forward to this, Kurama!'_ he thought as our hero went back to sleep.

_**'Don't get too carried away... Meatbag...'**_ smirked Kurama.

* * *

Flashback: End

"Ahh, I'm full!" says Naruto as he finished his third bowl. He was ready to pay the amount of money for them but Teuchi interrupted.

"Don't worry Naruto, It's on the house!"

"Thanks Teuchi-jiji! I'll go now, say hi to Ayame-neesan for me!"

Naruto saw him nod before he left the ramen stand behind him. Walking down the street a lot of villagers smiled at him, but they couldn't fool the blond. He saw the sadness and sorrow behind their masks. A lot of people lost their loved ones 12 years ago.

_'One day, I'll make sure that everyone will be able to smile truly.'_

While deep in thought, Naruto couldn't sense a new presence coming from behind him.

"...ey...uto!"

"Na...o!"

_'Maybe I should eat something else tomorrow. Yeah, ramen is good but I'm curious about the-'_

"HEY!" said the mysterious person while slightly punching Naruto's shoulder.

"GAAH! Don't scare me like that!"

"The academy is the other way, dobe!" told the raven haired boy.

"Oh, Sasuke? Why are you here? Your house is on the other side of the village!" he said. Ever since the two met, they considered each other as rivals. They fought countless of times but their battles always ended as a draw. After the two realised how good they are as a team, they become friends.

"I had to help my mother, but stop asking and let's go! I can't even think what would have happened if I didn't snap you out of it..." says Sasuke. "Now, what was that before, dobe?"

"Will you stop calling me like that? Just because you're the top student and I'm the second one doesn't give you any rights to call me the dead last! And you already know what was on my mind." muttered Naruto the last part while his eyes showed sadness.

"Yeah, it's either "that" or ramen and if it's "that", then you should forget about it. The people WILL accept you, just give them some time."

"Since when did you started to care about me, SA-SU-KE-KUN~?" joked Naruto.

"Since you started to act like a depressed fan girl, who couldn't have her charming prince for herself. Now move your ass or we'll late!"

_'Don't think this is over...'_ thought an angry Naruto.

While both of them hurried to the academy, they saw a family while they exited from the Yamanaka Flowers shop.

"Hey, niisan! After we get home, can you show me how to throw a shuriken like you do?" said the younger sibling.

"Of course, but only after lunch." says the older as the family disappeared from their sight.

"Tsk, not this again!" Sasuke said quietly that only Naruto could hear it. Both he and Sasuke slowed down while thinking about the same thing. Naruto was the first one to say it.

"It's been almost a year now...since Itachi disappeared." says Naruto while remembering the last day he saw him.

* * *

Flashback: **11 months ago.**

"Itachi-Sensei!" yelled a happy Naruto while running towards him at the gate.

"Naruto, how many times I have to tell you...just because I taught you a jutsu doesn't make me your Sensei." said Itachi calmly.

"So you're leaving. It's a hard mission?" asked Naruto.

"That's the strange part, we don't know anything about it, just the location, but you know well that every mission detail is top-secret." told him Itachi while looking up to the sky. The Hokage told him to investigate the nearby forest with his team because of a strange signature. There is no guarantee who or what will they find, but the Third told him personally that this "signature" was insanely strong and dark.

"Sorry. I know it doesn't change anything if I say this, but be careful!" said Naruto as he saw him regrouping with Uchiha Shisui and his team. Even if Itachi is strong, he knew something was not right.

* * *

Flashback: End

"Yeah, but I'll find him no matter what!" said Sasuke as they finally arrived at their destination. After opening the classroom's door, a lot of their classmates looked at them with happy and excited expressions. Both of them waved to their friends and made their way to sit down at their usual seat next to each other. 10 minutes later, Iruka-Sensei came and informed the class that the final exams will begin.

"Alright. Everyone's here? Good. I'll hand over the examination papers in a minute, but first I want to thank everyone their hard work and hope all of you will pass, also- Hey Shikamaru! At least show us some sign that you're listening to me!

"Hai!" says a tired Shikamaru as he went back to sleep.

"Never mind. You will have 45 minutes to complete both of the pages, then after that we begin the second part of the exam." says Iruka as he handed the papers to everyone.

"Now, BEGIN!" and at the same time, all of them started to write on the white papers with their pens.

Probably this was Naruto's worst and most boring 45 minutes in his entire life so far. He answered almost all the questions but the possibility, that Sasuke will do better flustered him the most.

_'If Sasuke-teme finds out that I couldn't answer to two questions, he'll laugh his head off.'_ thought the blond as he looked around the classroom, seeing that almost everyone is finished. He saw Chouji eating some chips stealthily, Kiba with Akamaru in his lap and Shikamaru with his head on the table. _'Huh, they'll never change.'_

"Stop! Time's up! Move your papers to the side so I can collect them." Says Iruka as he gathered all of the exams. "Now to part two! If you hear your name, proceed through the door on my right! We will call each of you one by one to show us what you've learned so far. Let's begin!"

"First: Aburame Shino!" said a voice behind the door.

"So Shino's first..." muttered a bored Naruto.

"How did it go, Naruto?" asked Kiba while looking at him with Akamaru on his head.

"I did everything I could and I'm confident about it, you?"

"Same here."

"Next: Inuzuka Kiba!"

"Oooh, it's me, gotta go!" says Kiba with a huge grin on his face.

"Huh, lucky bastard." muttered Naruto as he saw his friend entering the room.

_'I thought I would be nervous about all this, but looks like It's easier than I imagined. I wonder what we'll have __to do in the second part. Maybe we have to dispell a genjutsu or something like that?'_ Naruto felt that someone's watching him and when he turned around he saw a girl, Hyuuga Hinata staring at him. When the girl saw that Naruto and her are looking at each other, she quickly turned away with a huge blush on her face. Naruto noticed this._ 'So i was right, she really does like me. Hinita is cute, but I'm sorry, you're not my type.'_

**"You'll never change either, Meatbag!"**

_'Kurama? What happened?'_ says Naruto while talking to Kurama inside his mindscape.

**"You should focus, never let your guard down!"**

_'Why should I focus when it's not even my turn?'_

"Next: Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Ah!" yelled a surprised Naruto while jumping up from his seat.

**"Told you."** laughed Kurama.

Naruto made his way towards the door and took a deep breath before opening it. After he stepped inside, he saw his Sensei sitting at the other side of the room with two other teachers. The room was empty except a table with a lot of Konoha forehead protector on it. He quickly moved to the center of the room and prepared himself mentally for the upcoming test.

"Alright Naruto, let's get started! First you need to use your Clone Jutsu and make four clones, then transform into five different objects at the same time with your clones."

"Got it!" Naruto says as performed the hand signs and yelled:** "Clone Jutsu!"**  
Right after that four perfectly same Naruto appeared beside the original and every one of them yelled at the same time:** "Transformation Jutsu!"**  
All Naruto then transformed into five different things, a log, a chair, a sword, a girl Naruto and even the Third Hokage perfectly.

_'Looks like there's no point testing him further, everything is perfect.'_ thought Iruka as he lined up five forehead protector on the other side of the table.

"Naruto, dispell your transformation and clone jutsu and come here!" After he arrived at the table, Iruka continued.

"There's a small chakra crystal under one of those forehead protectors, your task is to find it by sensing it's chakra. Also, you can't move- or touch them. I know you're not a sensor type, but it should be easy for you, as it was for the others." Naruto moved his hands above them and closed his eyes, while focusing his chakra to his palm. After a couple of seconds he opened his eyes and grabbed one of the protectors, lifting it in the process. There, he found the little blue crystal on the table. A smile formed on his face while looking at his Sensei.

"Excellent Naruto, you passed!" announced Iruka as he relaxed in his chair. "That forehead protector is now yours, take good care of it and best of luck being a Shinobi to Konoha!

"Thank you!" Naruto said as he bowed to the three teachers and made his way out of the room from a different door while placing his newly acquired protector on his forehead. After he found himself out in the hallway, he felt relieved while clenching his fists. "Yeah." He muttered quietly as he went outside to meet his friends.

* * *

Outside the Academy

When Naruto stepped outside he saw a lot of the students parents looking at their son or daughter. This made the blond uneasy but deep inside, he knew that his parents are proud of him in the Afterlife.

"Naruto! You made it! Man, It's so exciting, everyone passed so far." said a grinning Kiba as Naruto arrived next to him. They both smiled at each other when Shikamaru stepped beside with a thinking face.

"Guys, isn't this strange? What about the first part of the exam?" said one if the laziest student in the ninja world._ 'I thought they announce the results after they saw how we did in the second part, but looks like it's __not over yet.'_ The main door then suddenly opened, revealing Iruka with several papers in his hand.

"Alright everyone! We finished revising the tests and I'm happy to say that all of you are passed! Beginning today all of you are real ninja... But you are still merely rookie "Genin." The hard part has just started." said Iruka while his last student, Sasuke went out of the academy and made his way to the others.  
"It's time for me to announce the 3 man teams. Thanks to the writing tests, we can now clearly see how far everyone' got and combining it with the practical exams, I made sure that every team is balanced. Let's move on to the teams, Team 1..." continued the teacher. Naruto stayed calm while some of the others were excited about the teams they got in.

"Next is Team 7! The members are, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke..."

"What?" the teens asked as they couldn't believe what they just heard._ ' I never thought I'll be in the same team __as him. At least it won't be boring.'_ thought both of them as their eyes met. Iruka continued.

"...and Haruno Sakura!" finished the teacher as everyone heard a loud shout from the girl.

Sasuke and Naruto were frozen as they tried processing the information._ 'Great, just what I needed.' _thought the Uchiha as he arrived beside his new blond teammate while whispering something to him. "Don't you think this is a bit much? I know Sakura is smart, but her physical condition is nowhere near ours." Bringing back our hero from his thoughts, Naruto said the most logical thing what came to his mind.

"Who?" asked him as Sasuke sweatropped. Naruto never really talked with the girl and even if they were classmates, he didn't have a reason to start a conversation with the pink haired kunoichi. She's obsessed with Sasuke after all. Something tells him that he's gonna have to face some difficulties in the future.

After the teams were formed, the Hokage appeared before them in a manner of seconds. Bowing their head, everyone looked at the old Hokage.

"Congratulations, everyone! From today, all of you are now a Shinobi of Konoha. The countless roads you're starting to walk on will become harder and crueler, but always remember this. It doesn't matter what you do, if you live and die as you like. However, no matter what road you end up taking, remember to protect the people that are precious to you." With that, a small smile formed on the Hokages face. Iruka continued with his speech.

"Hokage-sama and some other Jounins are going to have an urgent meeting at the end of the week. Because of that, we had to speed things up a little for some of you. The following teams are instead tomorrow, they'll meet their Jounin-Sensei today. This includes Team 7, 8, and 10. These members will have to wait their senseis for further instructions, everyone else is free to go. Good luck!" said the teacher as everyone started to leave the academy with their bag already on their back to meet their parents until only the 3 teams remained.

"Troublesome. It's always us." groaned Shikamaru.

"Shut up! I should be the one with a problem here. Why do I have to team up with you while Forehead Girl can have Sasuke-kun?" Ino yelled at him gaining a tick mark on her head as Shikamari sighed.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto! Let's get along from now on!" said Sakura cheerfully

"Yeah, sure./Whatever." both said as they saw her smiling. "So, how are you doing Sakura?" asked Naruto, trying to start a conversation with the girl. "I'm fine. Sasuke-kun, who do you think will be our sensei?" _'I feel like I'm being ignored. I think I'll take a nap until that person arrives.'_ sweatdropped the blond as he walked to a nearby bench.

70 minutes later.

"Okay, why is sensei so damn late? I could be at home by now, but no..." says an annoyed Sakura, sitting between Naruto and Sasuke on the bench._ 'The others are already left more than 30 minutes ago.'_ As she wanted to continue, a puff of smoke appeared revealing a tall man with silver hair, a book in his left hand and a mask on his face. Couple of seconds later, Naruto slowly opened his eyes, looking at him with a bored face.

"SENSEI! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?" Yelled Sakura in an instant but to their surprise, the silver-haired man didn't respond.

"Did you say something?" he asked with a question look as the three deadpanned. _'It's over, we're on our own.' _thought Sasuke.

"Hmm... How can I say this..? My first impression about you guys... is worse than I thought." he says while looking at them one by one.

"Heh, that's just makes it more interesting!" interrupted Naruto as the others widened their eyes.

"Hmm, then meet me on the roof in 5 minutes" says the Jounin closing his book as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go guys." suggested Naruto calmly as he started to walk towards the academy to get to the roof.

"What's wrong with him, Sasuke-kun?" asked a curious Sakura. "Don't worry, he's just excited" answered the Uchiha.

"Excited?" She couldn't believe what he just said.

"Yeah...just like me!" smirked Sasuke as he clenched his fists.

In a quiet forest outside of Konoha.

A purple portal appeared in the middle of the forest. A person stepped out of the strange void with a huge snake following him. This person was a man with pale white skin and waist-length black hair. He smiled as the portal closed behind him as a cracking sound could be heard.

"Hehe.. Looks like the portal won't be able to hold any longer. One more use and it will shatter." says the man.

"Then I suggest to hurry up with your experiments and don't keep me waiting, Orochimaru!" said a new voice as a projection arrived next to 'Orochimaru' with a hood covering his face.

"As you say, Oh mighty Master." he answered sarcastically.

"Watch your tongue before you regret it!" says the hooded figure as he cut the connection and disappeared.

Orochimaru checked his surroundings and smiled as he saw a deer not so far from there. "What do you think Manda? Let's eat a little before we start our little journey?" smirked Orochimaru as he rubbed his snake's head.

* * *

**_To Be Continued..._**

That's it for Chapter 0.2. Thank you for reading! I'll try to update this weekly but no promises.

Some notes...

Note#1: The prologue will be 4 chapters long. (Chapter 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8).

Note#2: Please also note that this is only the Introduction Arc, so don't expect Natsu or any other Fairy Tail members popping out of nowhere.

Note#3: This will be a single pairing story because I'm still inexperienced with fanfictions, so a harem story for me will be too hard.

**See you next time!**


	2. Prologue 2

**The Darkness Inside Us**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

"Regular Speech"

_'Regular Thoughs'_

**"Demon/Monster Speech; Spell and** Jutsu names"

**_'Demon/Monster Thoughts'_**

Hello **Everyone**! First I want to thank you all for the feedbacks. I try to update the story as fast as I can, but rushing things are not my style.

Pairing: Naruto x Erza Knightwalker

* * *

**Introduction Arc**

**Prologue:** Chapter 0.4

Rain starts falling from the sky as blood splattered onto a nearby tree.

"*Pant* *Pant*. Hng!" Naruto was seriously low on chakra as he tried to get up from the ground while holding his wounded chest with his left hand as hard as he could. _'Damn it! At this rate... I really...'_ He thought and after a good observation, he spotted his enemy. Holding a kunai in his right hand, the blond was ready to attack him but he knew it would be pointless.

"Your face amuses me to no end" says a smiling white skinned figure. Naruto couldn't see his face because of the dark forest, but his sinister voice is more than enough. "If one bird foraging in a flock on the ground suddenly takes off, all other birds will take off immediately after, before they even know what's going on. The one who stays behind will be the prey. Right, Naruto-kun?" Then he summoned a strange chakra-like circle around his palm and a snake appeared behind the boy.

**_'Meatbag!'_**

_'I know...'_

"Don't even think about it!" Yelled Naruto as he turns around and slash with his kunai, cutting the snake in half.

"You never learn." said the voice again as he was now in front of him in an instant with a blade pointing at his neck. The blond's eyes widened with full of fear when he heard his enemy's last words. "It's over."

Naruto was stunned. His legs didn't respond and he completely lost control over his body. He can't just simply die here. _'Move, move damn it MOVE!'_ Thought Naruto as he saw the blade closing up to his neck, but before it could reach him, a weird noise interrupted the fight.

*Ring!* *Ring!*

* * *

"...eh?" Naruto opens his eyes as he found himself inside his apartment. "Just...a dream?" saying it out loud, he turned off his clock and quickly prepared himself for the day. Walking towards his fridge, he opened its door to take a peek inside. His arm made it's way to the last bowl of ramen but it stopped before he could grab it.

"I almost forgot that Kakashi-sensei told us we should skip breakfast today." said the Uzumaki as he closed the door. _'Then let's get this "Survival Training" over with. I'm not planning to go back to the academy.'_ He thought as he left from his apartment.

* * *

Flashback: **Yesterday.  
**The Academy's rooftop.

When all 3 of them arrived at the roof, they sat down on the ground while waiting for their sensei to start.

"Ok... Let's begin with some introductions." Said the silver-haired Jounin, crossing his arms.

"Umm.. what exactly do you want to know sensei?" Asked a curious Sakura.

"Let's see.. How about your likes, dislikes.. Dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that." He answered.

"Sensei, you look suspicious, why don't you introduce yourself to us first?" She asked again.

"Oh.. me? My name is Hatake Kakashi and as all of you know by now, I'm a Jounin ninja in Konoha. I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future...? Well, I have lots of hobbies." said Kakashi with a bored look. Meanwhile, Naruto facepalmed himself at the useless indrotuction.

_'Least he told us his name.'_ Thought the young Uzumaki as his sensei turned his gaze towards him.

"Now it's your turn blond." He finished and looks at Naruto with interest while the _'blond'_ gained a tick mark on his head.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is Cup Ramen and my friends. What I dislike is that a lot of people underestimate me without knowing my full strength." He said as he remembered several occasions when he was younger. "My dream..? Right now almost everyone looks at me with a fake smile on their face. My goal is to change that, so the villagers can show what they really think about me!" Said Naruto, putting his right hand on the left side of his chest. "Hobbies...sleeping, I guess."

_'I see.' _Thought Kakashi, remember seeing the blond asleep on the bench when he appeared before them outside the academy. "Next!" He turned his head to look at Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't really like or dislike anything. Also... I don't want to use the word "dream" but... I have an ambition. I promised myself that dying is not an option... until I find a certain man." He finished as he saw a surprised look on Sakura and a sad one on Naruto.

_ 'Itachi, huh?'_ Thought the silver-haired man again as he looked into Sasuke's eyes. "Ok... lastly, the girl."

"My name is Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is... or should I say, the person I like is..." She said while glancing at Sasuke every third second with a huge blush on her face. "Uhm... My dream for the future...Uhm..?" It was impossible for her to answer those questions without mentioning Sasuke. "OH YEAH!" She half-yelled, remembering a certain someone. "What I dislike... is Ino-pig!"

Somewhere inside a fancy Konoha restaurant, a girl with long blond hair sneezed loudly. "What's wrong Ino? You have a cold or something?" Asked Chouji while holding two 'yakitori' in both of his hands. "Don't worry about it. Sasuke-kun must be thinking about me!" She giggled as her sensei and teammates facefaulted.

Back at the Academy's rooftop, Kakashi wasn't satisfied with the three Genin._ 'Girls of this age are more interested in love than Ninjutsu'_ he thought. "Ok! So far for the introductions, tomorrow we'll start our duties as Shinobi." He began but soon got interrupted by Naruto.

"Something tells me we are far from being called a '_true_' Shinobi..." Before our hero could say more, his sensei crossed his arms again and continued.

"Now, first we are going to do something with just the four of us. A survival training." Both Naruto and Sasuke looked up at their sensei with determined eyes.

"Why a survival training? We've had enough of those at the Academy." Sakura asked. Sure they had many training when they were younger. Inside a forest, at the Training Ground and even in a cave.

"This isn't a _'Normal'_ training. This time, I'm your opponent." Said the Jounin, earning curious looks.

"So simply, sensei is something like a proctor?" asked Naruto.

"He He He. Exactly!" Kakashi chuckled but Sakura found this offending.

"What's so funny sensei?" The silver-haired Jounin then looked seriously at the three as Sakura gulped.

"It's just that... Of all the graduates, only 33% will be chosen to become a Genin and the rest will be sent back to the Academy. This Training is extra difficult with a failure rate of over 66%. But enough about that for today. Tomorrow, you will be graded on the training field. Bring all your Shinobi tools." Kakashi announced, pulling out several pieces of papers. "The details are on this,  
don't be late tomorrow!"

That time, everyone thought about different things. _'If I fail this, I'll be separated from Sasuke-kun. This is a __test of LOVE!'_...

_'If I won't succeed, finding Niisan will be impossible.'_...

_'What the, why am I the one who __got the crumpled paper?!' _

After hearing what they had to, all of them stand up from the ground. When they were about to turn around, Kakashi told them another absurd part of the_ 'Training'._ "Oh... and skip breakfast, you'll might throw up." He told them as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Flashback: End

"I understand that he won't go easy on us but still, what's with the _'throw up'_?" muttered Naruto as he finally arrives to his destination. "Good morning!" He greeted the others. "Morning Naruto/Hmp!" His teammates said. "Kakashi-sensei? Don't tell me that he's late again." Deadpanned the blond.

"Then we have to use that to our advantage. Naruto, remember what happened when we had to face one of our teacher back at the Academy?" Sasuke said as he thought about one of their trainings with a teacher. Two years ago, he paired up with Naruto to test their strength as a team. But without a plan, they failed miserably.

"Your're right. I don't want to relive those moments again." Shivered Naruto.

"Why, what happened?" asked Sakura.

"Let's just say that this time, we need a plan." Answered the blond as Sasuke stepped forward.

"We probably have around 50 minutes before sensei arrives, so let's do this. He said that we should bring all of our ninja tools, so what do you two have?" He said as the three Genin showed their tools to each other. "Now for the plan. I hate to admit it, but we need each other to even make a scratch on him. So we need a distraction. Naruto! You can make numerous clones with your chakra reserves so you have to keep him busy while I attack him from behind." He says but Naruto wasn't satisfied with the plan.

"You know I can't do anything with those clones right? They're just intangible copies." But Sasuke already know that.

"Yeah but you also will be with them, so he have to keep his _'eye'_ on you. Besides, you still have _'that'_ up in your sleeve to surprise him." He smirked as Naruto did the same.

_'Whoa, even if those two always argue about something, they really ARE a good team. But at the same time, I'm..-'_

"Sakura!" Sasuke said, gaining the attention of the pink haired girl. "Even if you're bad in close combat, you can still help us by becoming our supporter. You can attack him when you see there's an opening or one of us is in danger. Sadly at the same time, you will be the first one on his list. So you have to change your position every once in a while and prepare for anything, Taijutsu, Genjutsu and even Ninjutsu." He then stopped to wait for the others to agree with him.

"You're really amazing Sasuke-kun! You could become even an Anbu later on!" Says a happy Sakura. While clenching his fists, Naruto had to agree with her. He really is amazing.

"Yeah sure, lead us to victory SA-SU-KE-KUN!" Joked Naruto, while successfully evading from Sakura's wrath.

"Shut up Dobe! There's no guarantee that this will work, he is a Jounin, an elite ninja after all." Argued Sasuke. "Everyone got it?" He says as the two nodded.

"Then what about exploring the Training Ground?" Suggested Naruto.

"Fine by me" Sakura answered as Sasuke 'hmped'.

A couple of minutes later, Kakashi arrived with a relaxed expression. "Hey everyone! How are you doing in this beautiful morning?" He asked.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Yelled a mad Sakura.

"Ah... A black cat crossed my path, so..." He tried to make an excuse but seeing their faces, he quickly changed his mind. He started to move towards a stump, placing a clock onto it. "Alright, set at 12 PM." Gaining the others attention, he showed them two bells in his hand. "Here are two bells. Your task is to take these from me before the time's up. Those who don't have a bell by noon get's no lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps, but I'll also eat right in front of you."

*GRRRR* Sweatdropped the three as their stomach growled. _'And I almost believed him' _Thought a half-angry Naruto.

"You only have to get one. There are only two, so one of you will definitely be tied to the stump. The person who doesn't take a bell fails, so at least one of you will be sent back to the Academy. You can use any kind of method to get the bell, come at me with the intent to kill!" He said, shocking Sakura.

"But Sensei, you'll be in dan-!" She couldn't finish as Naruto placed his right hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Sakura. Like Sasuke said, he's a Jounin for a reason." He reassured her.

Kakashi stepped forward, making an eye smile. "Hehe, it seems like... I'm beginning to like you guys. Ok, Let's get going. Ready... BEGIN!" He shouted as they jumped out from his way in an instant and into the training ground's forest.

Silence filled the field as Kakashi is standing in the center of it. "A basic for a ninja is to conceal his presence and hide." He says it out loud while looking around to find them. Spotting Naruto and Sasuke on a tree, Sakura under a bush, he was rather satisfied. _'Nice... they're all hidden very well.'_ He was quite flustered what's going to happen in his book, so he moved his hand to his pockets but before he could grab it, a kunai made its way towards him.

_'That's the signal!' _Thought Naruto as he jumped down from a tree and made three hand sign while running to his sensei**.**

**"Clone Jutsu"** He shouted and made seven clone out of himself.

_'The kunai was a distraction so he could sneak up behind me...' _He evaded the kunai and turned to the running Narutos. The clones quickly got around and rushed to him in a different fighting style. The fake ones swiftly sidestepped him with a confusing movement and the real Naruto went for a punch from the back.

_'Got him!'_ Naruto thought but before he could hit him, Kakashi grabbed his hand and throw the Uzumaki to a nearby tree. As he collided with it and met the ground, his sensei finally pulled out his Icha Icha Paradise book.

"Thanks Dobe!" Sasuke declares as he appeared behind the Jounin in a matter of seconds. Kakashi widened his eye when he looked at the tree where he last saw the Uchiha. To his surprise, a clone Naruto was the only one who stood there before disappearing. _'So he made a clone before attacking me and transformed him into Sasuke, buying __the real one enough time to prepare his attack against me.'_

**_'Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu'_ **He took a deep breath before unleashing his attack. Then he released a huge fireball, targeting his sensei.

"What?!" _'A Genin shouldn't have enough chakra to be able to perform that jutsu!'_

As the fireball successfully hit its target, Sasuke smirked and made his way towards the crater what his jutsu's created. Before he could get a clear a view, something grabbed his leg beneath him.

**"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"** Kakashi said as he pulled down Sasuke, so only his head was visible. "Alright, you took me by surprise. I never thought you could use a jutsu like that." He says before disappearing from the Uchiha's eyes.

_'Tsk! So this is a Jounin...'_ "Hey Naruto! Don't even think about sleeping at a time like this! Get up!" He yells as Naruto started opening his eyes.

"Ahh, I knew that the whole Clone Jutsu will be pointless!" Then he looked at his friend. "Sasuke? He got you too? ...What about Sakura?" Asked the blondie.

"How should I know?." Was his only reply.

At the north end of the Training Ground, Sakura tries to run as fast as she can._ 'After Kakashi-sensei is __disappeared, I know he's gonna target me.'_

"Sa...kura." She heard someone calling her name.

She stopped. Turning her head towards the voice but the scene shocked the pink haired girl. Sasuke is kneeling right in front of her, riddled with kunais and shurikens. Before starting to panic, she remembered what he said to her: _'prepare for anything, Taijutsu, Genjutsu and even Ninjutsu'. _Her face changed immediately _'I know this is a Genjutsu'._ "Kai!" She shouts while stopping the flow of her chakra. After the Genjutsu disappeared, something or rather someone fell down from a tree next to her. Sakura looked to only see Sasuke's lifeless body laying in the dirt. Freaking out at the sight, she started to scream before losing her consciousness.

_'Looks like two Genjutsu at the same time was a bit much.'_ Though the silver-haired Jounin, looking at her. _'I wonder if the other two come up with a different plan.'_

Back with the others, Naruto finally digged up Sasuke. "What now?" Asks Naruto.

"Ninjutsu didn't work, so we have to rely on our Taijutsu." Sasuke said as he started to leave his teammate behind.

"Hey, where are you going? What about our teamwork?" But the blond's voice never reached him, as he left in an instant. _'I hate it when he wants __to do everything by himself.'_

* * *

Konoha: Hokage Residence.

The Third Hokage is sitting in his usual seat behind the desk when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" The door opened, revealing two middle-aged man. "Izumo, Kotetsu, I'm afraid your mission was a failure?" The one with his hair covering his right eye stepped forward.

"My deepest apologize Hokage-sama! We investigated the whole area but we couldn't find anything or anyone." Izumo says as the Hokage looks at them with an ominous look.

"Our tracker ninjas are currently doing missions and with Kakashi training his Genins, it's pointless to search further." Said Hiruzen as he sighed.

"Hokage-sama! If I may ask, what exactly happened in that forest?" Kotetsu asked. The old Hokage stood up while walking towards the window to stare at the village. He cleared his throat and spoke up.

"11 months ago we detected a strange presence outside of Konoha. We didn't know what it was, but it's power was enormous. I sent a special Anbu team, consisting 8 skilled man to find the source in the area. Sadly, they never came back. 4 days later, I sent a recon team to find them but the only thing what they found, were 6 lifeless body. As for the remaining 2, no trace was left behind them, so I suggest either they got captured... or completely erased by a jutsu. Uchiha Itachi was one of these two." Both Chunin's eyes widened.

"Erased? Itachi is one of our strongest Shinobi! I can't possibly imagine him to lose." Izumo says while holding his breath.

_'I can't overlook this! If this presence appeared again, I have to do something about it!'_ Though Hiruzen.

* * *

Konoha: Third Training Ground.

Running towards his sensei, Sasuke throws couple of shurikens at him but Kakashi quickly dodged them. "Such obvious attacks are useless!" Then the Uchiha - seeing his sensei's position - aimed at a nearby rope and in a swift motion, successfully hitting it. Before the Jounin could stop in his movements, multiple kunais bursts from a nearby bush_. __'A trap?'_ He thought and deflected all of them and at the same time blocking an incoming punch from the Uchiha. Sasuke then jumps up, trying to hit him with a flying round house kick, but like last time, he failed. Grabbing his leg, the Jounin shoved him into a tree, just like he did to Naruto.

Then he realised it. _'I completely forgot about him!' _Sensing his chakra signature from behind, he grabbed a weapon from the ground and clashed his kunai with Naruto's. Gathering his strength, Kakashi pushed him back and moves forward to kick the blond.

_'No, not this time!'_ Thought Naruto as he closed his eyes, remembering a jutsu he learned.

Flashback: **13 Months ago.**

"Itachi-sensei!" Yelled an anxious Naruto while running to his friend. "Hey, Itachi-sensei! You said you will teach me today a new and awesome jutsu!"

"Good morning, Naruto-kun! Yes, that's right, but only when you stop calling me sensei." Said Itachi as a small smile appeared on his face. Our hero then nodded. "Originally, my friend asked me to teach you this and he also told me that you're going to like it."

"And why isn't 'HE' here?"

"He's busy with doing his mission. Now listen carefully! What I'm about to teach you is a high-speed movement jutsu, that allows a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed." He said to a confused Naruto. "First, you have to concentrate your chakra around your body equally, then focus on the place where you want to go. There is no guarantee that you'll do it for the first time, but that's why I'm here."

"The technique is called..."

Flashback: End.

**"Body Flicker Jutsu!"** He whispered, suddenly opening his eyes. Naruto sidestepped Kakashi's blow in a red flash and was now ready to take a bell from him. _'Just... a little more...' _He thought as his hand moved closer but before he could grab one, his vision started to blur. Unable to get the bell, he slipped and fell to the ground.

_'How was that possible? Even without my Sharingan, I should have been able to see his movements...' _Thought Kakashi as he jumped back from Naruto. Taking a close look at the boy, his eyes caught the Jounin's attention. _'His eyes... __Don't tell me that the Kyuubi...'_ Naruto's cerulean blue eyes were now slitted and blood-red.

*Pant* *Pant* _'Looks like I used too much chakra'_ Heavily panting, his eyes turned back to it's original color.

**_'Sorry Meatbag, that was all I could do. Your body is still not ready to take more of my chakra.'_**

Kakashi on the other hand now started to feel that he should end it. _'Let's see what's going to happen if I do __this.'_ He then grabbed one of the bells and tossed a few yards away without Naruto to notice it.

**"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu" **He released a giant fireball (Without damaging his mask) - but to Naruto's surprise- towards Sasuke.

"Tch!" Sasuke then starts running to escape from the attack but his sensei was faster. He grabbed his legs again from beneath him. _'What? A shadow clone, but when did he-'_ He was unable to finish as Kakashi pulled him down.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yells while running to his friend until he spotted a shiny object on the ground._ 'A bell... __but how?'_ Thinking about what should he do, the time completely slowed down to the boy. _'What should I do? I can't __just let Sasuke to take that attack... but I can't fail either.'_ After he took a deep breath, Naruto made his way to his friend as fast as he could._ 'I don't care, I get it later.'_ Seeing the distance between his friend and the fireball, the young boy realised he was too slow. _'Damn it, I won't make it.'_

To both's surprise, the jutsu disappeared into the air before it could reach Sasuke. "Alright, time's up!" Kakashi announced as they heard the clock. "Naruto, help Sasuke while I go and wake Sakura up ." Then he left.

15 minutes later, we can see Sakura tied to the stump with Naruto and Sasuke sitting next to her. "It seems that none of you could understand the purpose of this tes-" The silver-haired Jounin got interrupted by Sakura.

"Kakashi-sensei! I was useless the whole time. That's why..." She took a deep breath. "You can send me back to the Academy but please, leave Sasuke-kun and Naruto out of this." Sakura never thought she would say these words after she got in the same team as Sasuke.

"Why just you? None of you were able to get a bell." He said coldy but his eye widened what the pink haired girl said. _'I'm really starting to like them.'_

"Guess I can't help it. Then you guys...

...Pass!" He finished with an eye smile.

It took nearly 3 minutes to them to process what just happened.

"But the bells..." Sakura said slowly.

"This was never about the bells but to see whether you can think straight under these designed circumstances. For example, even after knowing one of you will fail, both you and Naruto worked as Sasuke planned."

"Kakashi-sensei was there the whole time?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah and as for you, Naruto. You went to save your teammate when you could've get the bell or should I say... your Mission, from the ground. But I don't know how would have stopped that fireball by yourself."

_'Now that Kakashi-sensei mentions it...'_ Sweatdropped Naruto.

"Sakura! In different circumstances, you would have abandoned your mission for the sake of your companions. Sasuke! Despite your attitude, you still helped the others to make a plan, but it didn't work and Sakura passed out." He says and Sakura sweatdropped.

Kakashi then looks up to the sky and continue in a serious tone. "In the shinobi world, those that break the written and unwritten rules are deemed trash...but be that as it may... Those that would desregard their comrades so easily are even worse then trash. My best friend told me that, who died on the battlefield." Everyone - even Sasuke - smiled at what they heard. Kakashi helped to untie Sakura and raised his hand to give a thumbs up to the three.

"That ends the training, all of you pass! Starting tomorrow, Team 7 will begin its duties!" With that, all of them started to walk away but before reaching the end of the Training Grounds, Kakashi stopped at a memorial. Not wanting to disturb him, Sasuke left with a happy Sakura following him.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto says with a sad look on his face, earning his sensei's attention. "I couldn't do anything with my Clone Jutsu when we _'fought'_. I'm wondering, now that we're a team... Can you teach me a similar jutsu, so I can protect the others if one of me isn't enough?" He asked in a depressed tone.

_'Hmm, with his insane reserves of chakra, it might be a good idea to teach him 'that'.'_ He thought. "Alright Naruto, I think I have an idea..."

* * *

_**To be Continued...**_

**Thank you everyone for reading this chapter!**

*** **I try to update this weekly (Or sooner like this one) but no promises.

***** I tried to use this chapter to test if I can write a decent battle. (I'm not really satisfied how it turned out but I guess it'll do for a first.)

*** **I also need some help with the pairing. The more suggestions I get, the better.

**Yakitori:** Skewered grilled chicken pieces seasoned with salt or sauce.

**See you next time!**


	3. Prologue 3: Beginning a Path of Sorrow

**The Darkness Inside Us**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

**Hey Everyone! First, thank you for the suggestions about the pairing. I decided to pair Naruto with Knightwalker (Edo. Erza) because it's**

**un-common. (+ I have an idea for them to meet before the Edolas Arc).**

"Regular Speech"

_'Regular Thoughts'_

**"Demon/Monster Speech; Spell and Jutsu names"**

_**'Demon/Monster Thoughts'**_

Pairing: **Naruto x Erza Knightwalker**

* * *

**"****Reality**" Arc

**Prologue: Chapter 0.6**

**Beginning a Path of Sorrow.**

Timeskip: 2 weeks

Two weeks have passed since Team 7 officially formed. Until now, they successfully completed 8 D-rank missions but as the time passed, they become anxious. They had enough of the babysitting and wood cutting missions. They wanted something more challenging.

_'Alright, I'm in position!'_ Said a confident Naruto through his wireless radio.

"What's the distance to the target?" Asked Kakashi.

_'Roughly five meters. I'm ready anytime.'_ Sasuke informed his sensei.

_'So am I!/Me too!'_

"Ok! Ready...Go!" He orders as they started to pursue the target.

At his Genins location, all three of them bursted out from their hiding spot.

"Uraa!" Naruto screamed as he got close to the little furry animal.

"Got'cha! Gah...Stay still you stupid cat!" But to Naruto's luck, the cat was smarter than he thought. The cat quickly brought her paw up and extended her claws. She gave one good swipe towards Naruto's face and the blond released her from his grasp.

"Ah... Naruto! What the hell did you do?" Yelled a wrathful Sakura. Before she could give him a piece of her mind, the blond raised his hand.

"Ouch... Don't worry Sakura, I have a back-up plan for this." He reassured her and all of them looked towards the demonic animal. It didn't take 10 seconds when another Naruto appeared from behind a tree and caught the cat. "See?" Grinned the blond as a tick mark appeared on Sasuke's face.

"You should really stop this Dobe! Using your shadow clones all the time will only make our teamwork worse. For example, me and Sakura didn't do anything on this mission. Besides, why did he teach you a B-rank jutsu?" Sasuke was right. After Naruto learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he started to rely on it, leaving his teammates behind.

"Jealous?" Joked Naruto but he immediately regretted what he said.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't punch you in the face! What's with you today anyway? You act like an 8-year-old!" Sasuke says while keeping his cool attitude.

"Sorry. I'm kind of excited about today." He said and his clone handed the cat to the original. After 1 week of begging, the Hokage finally agreed to give them a C-rank mission. Sakura is the only one who had second thoughts but quickly forgot them after the fourth potato digging mission.

_'Ribbon on the left ear... Are you sure this is the target, Tora?'_ Asked Kakashi.

"Yeah, we're sure." Answered Sasuke as he sees Naruto struggling with 'Tora'.

_'Good, lost pet "Tora" search mission... Complete! Let's head back to the village.'_

Little did they know that from the shadows, a pair of eyes observed them with great interest.

* * *

Konoha: Hokage's Office.

A knock could be heard as the Hokage called the team in.

After opening the door, Team 7 stepped into to the office to hand over the captured _beast_. They saw the relieved face of Madam Shijimi, the Fire Country Lord's wife.

"Ohh, my cute little Tora-chan. I was so worried!" Exclaimes the lady as she snatched the _poor_ cat from Naruto's hands.

_'You're welcome!'_ Deadpanned Naruto. Everyone else in the room sweatdropped at the sight as they saw tears rolling down from Tora's face.

_'No wonder it ran away.'_ Sighed Sakura.

*Cough* *Cough*

"Thank you for completing the mission. Now, as I promised, your next mission will be a C-rank-" Hiruzen started but got interrupted.

"My apologies Hokage-sama, but don't you think it's a bit early for them to do something like that? Even if they were good at the Academy, there's no guarantee that the mission will go smoothly." Says a worried Iruka while looking at the Genins. The old Hokage then cleared his throat again and spoke up.

"I understand your concern Iruka, but I need Kakashi for this personally and with his students by his side, there's nothing to worry about." The Chunin then sat back to his seat. Kakashi stepped forward to take the team's new mission.

"The mission is to deliver an important letter to the Wasabi family, located in the Land of Tea. Sending a messenger bird is difficult because of their rivalry with the Wagarashi family. It'll take two days to reach the country and one more to get to the family's manshion. With that, you're permitted to leave the village but be prepared for anything outside of it." Naruto and the others then started to move out from the room, leaving their sensei behind to do the necessary paperwork for the mission.

"Kakashi, I have another mission for you. I want you to investigate the forest nearby the Wasabi family's territory. The best option is to leave your students with the Wasabi's for the time being for their safety." says Hiruzen as he handed a scroll to the Jounin.

"Is this connected to the incident from 11 months ago?" The Hokage nodded. _'Just as I suspected.'_

"I thought so. Alright, I'll ask for Pakkun's help to search the area. What exactly should I look out for?"

"We don't know what you might find but if you sense a huge amount of unknown power or maybe hatred, then send back one of your Ninja Hound so I can inform the other Jounins in Konoha to help." Kakashi is the best choice to find the source of the mysterious energy, but if this 'energy' consumed one of Konoha's best Shinobi, then even he will be in danger.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. If there's nothing else, then I'll take my leave." With that, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Is this really a good idea Hokage-sama?" Iruka couldn't erase his thoughts out of his head.

"This will be a good opportunity for Naruto-kun to learn. After all, he growed up in peace without knowing the other side of Konoha's wall. The villagers treated him with kindness because the law I made, even if that kindness was fake. It's time for him to grow up." Ending the conversation, he went back to his paperwork._ 'Minato, how did __you finish signing those papers so quickly...'_

* * *

20 minutes later; Konoha's Main Gate.

Prepared for the mission, everyone was now standing at the village gates ready to begin their mission. All three of them were surprised when they saw Kakashi waiting for them at the gates.

_'Something's not right.'_ Thought Sakura as she sees her sensei._ 'And I thought I might have some time to eat before __we go.'_

Kakashi then turned to his Genins. "Alright, everyone's ready? This is your first day outside the village, so prepeare for anything. Now, let's go befo-" He couldn't finish as someone grabbed his shoulder.

"KAKASHI, MY ETERNAL RIVAL! What brings you here today? Another hot blooded challenge?!" His eyes lit up at the thought as he smiled, almost blinding the others in the process. Kakashi, not paying attention, turned back to his students.

"Like I said, you have to move quickly before someone glues himself to your shoulder." He said in a bored tone.

*Sigh*"What is with your attitude?! We'll never be young like this again! LEE! SHOW THEM HOW BRIGHT IS YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH!" Yelled the _strange_ man, wearing a green jumpsuit.

"GAI-SENSEI!" Screamed _Lee_ from the distance as he quickly jumped next to his sensei, making a "nice guy" pose. With his bowl haircut, he looks exactly the same as his sensei.

"ANOTHER ONE!" Shouted Sakura and Naruto at the same time as they pictured the disaster what was about to happen. What if there were more?

"Umm, sorry to interrupt Gai but we really have to go. We have a mission to complete." Kakashi said as he tried to speed things up, not wanting to keep his students in fear. He looked at his Genins with an awkward eye-smile and pointed towards the forest to hurry.

"My deepest apologies my Eternal Rival!" Gai bowed his head, giving his Rival another embarrassing moment.

"You don't really have to do that..." Kakashi scratched the back of his head. Little did the silver-haired Jounin know that he only made the situation worse.

"NO! Look deep into my eyes and accept my sincere apology! Also notice my handsome manly features." The others couldn't believe what they just heard. Seeing Gai doing his "nice guy" pose like Lee, really scared the three Genin.

_'Now that I think about it. A D-rank mission sounds fine to me.'_ Sweatdropped Naruto, regretting that he begged the Old Hokage for a whole week to get this mission.

"Alright, let's get going!" Kakashi said as they started to walk away with their sensei behind them. Before taking another step, Lee appeared in front of them with serious expression. With a huge blush on his face, he stepped towards Sakura.

"Hi! My name is Rock Lee! Let's go out together! I'll protect you with my life!" He happily said as the others  
froze. After recovering from her shock, Sakura looked at him with disgust.

"No...Way..."

After these words, Lee crouched down onto the ground, hugging his legs into his chest while a dark cloud surrounded him.

As they left him behind, Sakura saw their sensei standing next to _Super Bushy Brow Sensei_, as Naruto called him.

Before Kakashi joined them, he walked next to Gai, facing him with his back. "Gai! Stay in the village or if you have a mission, complete it as fast as you can. Hokage-sama told me to investigate a forest at the Land of Tea. As I feared, this mission is connected to the incident from 11 months ago. I'm not sure what I'm going to find or discover but if there's anything unusual, I'll request backup from the village immediately."

"You can count on me Kakashi!" He said in a serious tone. After the conversation was over, they parted ways.

* * *

Timeskip: 3 days later.  
Degarashi Port.  
8 PM.

The previous three days were kind of interesting for Naruto and the others. Kakashi used the first day to teach them how to focus a fixed amount of chakra to the bottom of their feet, and using that to climb a tree. Surprising her teammates, Sakura was able to climb the tree for the first time. As for Naruto and Sasuke, it took them some time but with some help, they figured it out next day.

"That's the mansion?" Naruto asked as the team arrived at Degarashi Port. Pointing towards it, Naruto looked at his sensei.

"Yes. That's it." Kakashi said in a bored tone. "I'll talk with the clan head about staying here for tonight after we delivered the letter" He grabbed the scroll from his pocket. Entering the house they met Jirōchō Wasabi, the leader of the clan.

After a long talk at the house, they got the permission to stay there for the night. "Thank you for delivering the message, Hatake-san. It's the least I can do to show my gratitude." Jirōchō said as he bowed his head, earning a curious look from Sasuke.

_'This is just a C-rank mission, what could be in the scroll...'_ Thought the Uchiha. Kakashi stood up and bowed his head to Jirōchō.

"Thank you. Then I take my leave." He said but soon he find his way blocked by Naruto.

"What's going on Kakashi-sensei? Where are you going?" Asked the blond as he raised an eyebrow. He didn't even knew the way where they come from. The silver-haired Jounin then ran his fingers through his hair.

"Don't worry, I'll be back in the morning. Unlike you guys, I'm a Jounin and I have to do more important missions then just a delivery. But I summon someone to look out after all of you." He said as he made a few hand seals and planted his hand on the floor.** "Summoning Jutsu" _Kuchiyose no Jutsu. _**In a matter of seconds, eight Ninja Hound _(Ninken)_ appeared before them, shocking even the Wasaby clan's head.

_'A summon? That's so cool!'_ Thought an overjoyed Naruto.

Soon, the dog with white and light-brown fur, along with long spiky tufts of hair on his head stepped forward. "His name is Urushi. He don't really like to talk but I leave him to guard this place until I come back. If something happens to him, I'll feel it immediately. It's time for me to go, take care of them." Urushi only  
_hmphed_ as Kakashi disappeared with the other hounds from the room.

"He's kinda like Sasuke..." Mumbled Naruto to himself. It was only a matter of time until the room exploded from the loud argument.

"I dare you to say that again Dobe!" Sasuke yelled as he moved closer to our blond hero, readying himself to punch him.

"As you wish!" Yelled back Naruto.

"Please, there's no need to start arguing with each other at a time like this. I bet all of you are hungry from the long trip..." Jirōchō said, gaining the others attention. "I can see that's a yes. Follow me then!" With that, all four of them left the room, leaving Urushi to guard it.

* * *

Inside the forest with Kakashi.

"Kakashi, there are no chakra signatures inside the forest." Pakkun said as he appered beside him. "You still want to investigate further?"

"We have the whole night to find something..." But deep inside, the Jounin knew something was off. _'This strange __feeling, it's like the whole forest is trying to consume me.'_ He jumped up from the ground to a tree._ 'Let's try __this.'_ Lifting his headband from his left eye, he started to scan the whole area with his Sharingan._ 'Just as __I thought, still noth-'_ He couldn't finish a familiar sensation hit his body and widened both of his eyes.

"Kakashi, what happened?" Pakkun asked as he saw him.

"Urushi... disappeared!" He said as he quickly turned back and started to rush back to the mansion. Pakkun quickly followed him and alarmed the others about the news. _'What is the meaning of this?'_ Kakashi thought.

* * *

"I have to say, the dinner was really delicious, Jirōchō-san!" Says a happy Sakura as she smiled to him. Rice bowl, onigiri, curry, fish cakes, boiled eggs, deep-fried pork cutlets, the chef made anything what they wanted. Hell, even Naruto got his 6 bowls of Ramen.

After they finished with the dinner, the three Genin and Jiroucho made their way out to the backyard. _'Man, this __place is like a labyrinth.'_ Sighed Naruto as he slide the door open. But neither him, nor the others were ready what they about to see. Thanks to the Moon, even at night they could clearly see the...

"...Co-Corpses?" Said a shocked Naruto quietly. All the servants and the clan members laid in their own cold blood as their body parts could be seen all around the yard.

"H-How? We didn't heard anything. Just half an hour ago, everything was..." Sakura tried finish it but feeling that it's impossible, she quickly turned away.

It was a massacre.

"Who did this?!" Demanded Sasuke but nothing came. Silence... only silence.

"Kukukuku...I think I can answer your question, Sasuke-kun." Said an ominous voice right behind them. The three Genin jumped away from the source of the voice in a hurry, but what they saw shocked them again.

"Ji-Jirōchō...san?" Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing. While _Jirōchō_ stepped forwards, his face changed. He clearly teared off his skin on his face and revealed a pale-white man with a sinister smile. "Why and how? You were with us the whole time?!" Half-yelled the blond.

"Hmm, that's an interesting reaction but to answer your question... Yes, but my friend wasn't." He then pointed above them.

"Wha-?" Was all they could say as a giant snake looked at them with great interest. Then the 10 feet tall (3m) snake launched itself, ready to devour them.

"JUMP!" Sasuke yelled.

**CRASH...**

A huge shockwave sent them to a nearby wall as the monster collides with the ground.

"Gah..." Sasuke cries out as he got up from the ground. His teammates were alright, but the fear still could be seen in their eyes. "Naruto, Sakura! Don't even think about passing out!" The Uchiha successfully snapped them out of it.

"Hehe, damn it... Looks like we can't really get away, it's too fast." Said the blond and got into a fighting stance. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Seven clones appeared in a puff of smoke and went to attack their target. "I can only buy us some time... any ideas?" He asked.

"Sasuke-kun, what about your fireball jutsu?" Sakura asked. She still shivers when she looked at the pale-skinned man behind the snake.

"That's too small, we need something bigger..." Then he remembered. "Paper bombs! Give me all of them!" They did as he told them. Sasuke carefully placed eight of the explosives on his kunais edge, leaving only two in his pockets. "Naruto, your clones disappeared so buy me some more time! I'm planning to throw these inside it's mouth. Sakura, keep an eye out on that bastard!" It was strange that the enemy just stands next to the door.

"Alright, I hope you know what your doing. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The clones made their way to the snake.

Sasuke then jumped up to a nearby tree in the yard to focus on the snake. As he watched Naruto's clones desperate fight, the raven-haired boy grabbed four explosive kunai in one of his hand and aimed at his target.

After the snake ate and slammed the clones to the ground, it made it's way to Sasuke with an opened mouth. _'Now!'_ He thought and in a swift motion, he threw the kunais inside the snake's mouth.

**BOOM!**

As the kunais made contact with their target, they exploded, successfully killing the snake. Sasuke just simply smirks and looked back to unknown person.

"Impressive! Now then...what about the second one?" He claps his hands and another giant snake appeared behind the boy.

"Sasuke!/Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke widens his eyes as he faced his new enemy but it was too late._ 'Crap, it's too close...'_ The snake with his mouth already open were only a few inches from him._ 'I can't die here...'_ But it was over. The creature closed it's mouth, tearing down half of the tree in the process.

"One dow-."

**BOOM!**

Another explosion echoes as the second snake's head ceased to exist. In a swirl of leaf, Sasuke appeared before them with a completely different eyes with two tomoes in each of it.

"So this is the Sharingan..." Sasuke mumbles to himself as he moved his hand in front of his eyes. "Not clearly but I can see the chakra signatures all around this place. But you're a different case..." He pointed to the snake summoner. "There's no chakra inside your body. Who are you?"

"Kukuku... What an interesting boy you are. You used your speed to throw your weapons inside my little friend. For a blink of an eye, you completely disappeared from my sight." He chuckled. "My name is Orochimaru and soon you three shall be my next subject of experimentation. Don't worry, it won't take long." Making his way towards them, he reached in his mouth and pulled out a double-edged blade, the Kusanagi. "It's and honor to fight against those eyes for the second time."

"Second...time?" The raven-haired boy asked.

Not giving the Uchiha time to think, he jumped forward with the sword in his hands to attack Sasuke. Forseeing his opponents move, Sasuke swiftly dodged from the deadly blows and appeared behind Orochimaru. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu"_ (Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu)._** Releasing the jutsu from point-blank range, the fireball completely consumed the snake summoner.

**"Snake Edge Fang" _(Jabaki)._** Said Orochimaru inside the flames as he summones a snake-like chain that appear in an instant and captured the Uchiha on his right arm.

_'How did he?!'_ The strange technique then started to pull Sasuke into the fire.

Seeing his friend in trouble, Naruto used his **Body Flicker Jutsu _(Shunshin no Jutsu)_** and cut the chain with his kunai. "Naruto?!"

"We're on our own Sasuke, Sakura is still mumbling something about the corpses around us." The said girl was still shocked what happened around her in only half an hour. "We just need to hold out until Kakashi-sensei arrives."

When the fire disappeared, Orochimaru stepped out from the crater...unharmed. "Now that you mention your sensei Naruto-kun, I really have to hurry." Orochimaru groaned as he looked over where the two boys were standing. "So let's go somewhere else." He smirked and pulled out an artifact from his kimono. Activating it, a purple portal appeared under Naruto and Sasuke and started to consume them.

"What the hell?! Let **me go!**" Naruto demanded as his eyes starts to turn from blue to blood-red.

"Whatever you're trying to do, it's pointless. Once you touch the portal, there is no escape." Orochimaru smiled as the purple liquid absorbed the two.

"Naruto, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said desperately. She still couldn't move because the fear that this man created around him.

"Now-now, you don't want to come with me?" Orochimaru said but already knowing the answer, he shut his eyes. "Have it your way then..."

The next thing the pink-haired girl sees is a blade with only an inch from her throat.

* * *

**To be Continued.**

_Next Time in Chapter 0.8:_

_"This is not happening...This can't be real..." Naruto couldn't believe it. Two hours ago he happily enjoyed his time with his sensei and friends...but now, after what this man did..._

_"Kukuku... Let me ask this Naruto-kun." Orochimaru stepped closer to the blond. "What decides what is right and wrong? 'Reality' you say...Then how did you learn from the 'Reality' you speak of?" He crouched down to the bleeding Uzumaki._

_"...Huh?"_

_"Open you eyes!"_

* * *

Thank you for reading! Next chapter's gonna be a little short so it should be up in a day or two.

Note: Naruto is gonna be 19 years old when canon starts so he arrive in Earth Land in X777.


	4. Prologue 4: Facing Reality

**The Darkness Inside Us**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

Hey **Everyone**! Look's like this Chapter took me longer than I expected. (I have no excuse).

I had to rewrite the chapter before publishing it. (Too many unnecessary things.) Anyway, I wanted to end the prologue without involving too many Fairy Tail characters, so here we go. Enjoy!

"Regular Speech"

_'Regular Thoughts'_

**"Demon/Monster Speech; Spell and Jutsu names"**

_**'Demon/Monster Thoughts'**_

**Pairing:** Naruto x Erza Knightwalker

* * *

******Prologue: Chapter 0.8.**

**"Reality" Arc**

**Facing Reality.**

Location: Unknown Forest.

"Where... where am I?" Questioned Sasuke from himself, standing up from the ground. As far as he could tell, he was in a clearing inside of a forest. However, the trees were different from the ones in the Land of Tea, brighter and even taller.

_'Tsk, he used a teleportation jutsu to send us here?'_ Activating his Sharingan again, he checked his surroundings for any kind of threat. He widened his eyes when he saw the chakra- or more like the energy that flows fiercely around him. _'This isn't chakra. This doesn't make any sense... Where the hell did he send us?'_ Looking over his shoulder, he spotted his blond friend.

**"Where's that snake bastard?!"** He roared, while releasing a huge amount of blue and red chakra from his body. Now they have to figure out how they're gonna go back to Degarashi Port. Clenching his fists, Naruto looked around. After a couple of seconds, a cold voice echoed through the forest behind the two boys.

"Looking for me?" The two Genin turned around towards it only to see Orochimaru with a mischievous look on his face. As the portal closed behind him, his blade caught the two teens attention. It stained with fresh blood...

**"Who's blood is that?!"** Yelled Naruto, bearly holding back his anger. The only ones who were alive back at the mansion were him, Sasuke and Sakura. Wait, Sakura... why wasn't she here yet?** "Don't tell me that's her..."**

"Kukuku..."

**"YOU SON OF A..."** Naruto, in a blink of an eye, launched himself at Orochimaru and with a clean swipe he punched him hard in the face. Thanks to Kurama's power, the shock wave was strong enough to send the snake-summoner into a tree, a few yards away.

The blond shook his head repeatedly, feeling his body tremble violently as anger took control over his emotions. The mixed blue and red chakra now turned to dark red, completely surrounding Naruto's body. He never really liked Sakura, but she is... or she_ was_ his teammate. At the same time, Sasuke couldn't do anything but wonder what happened to the Naruto he knew.

_'Is that really Naruto?'_ Thought the Uchiha. Sasuke just stared at him with wide eyes as he felt the enormous and cold chakra increase. Sasuke was also pissed about what Orochimaru possibly did to Sakura but unlike his raging teammate, he kept his cool.

After a few seconds, Orochimaru pulled himself out of the tree and started to walk back to them effortlessly but thanks to the dust what the impact created, they could only see his approaching shadow. Stepping out of the dust, a few cracks revealed on Orochimaru face where Naruto hit him, but moments later, they're disappeared.

**"You aren't human are you?"** Asked Naruto in his demonic voice. It felt like he is fighting against a ghost. Hearing the question from the blond, Orochimaru looked up to the sky and extended his left arm towards it.

"We're the same... We are both monsters. The only difference is that you're not aware of it...yet." He looked in his slitted eyes but the only thing he saw in them was darkness, filled by anger and hate. Oh, if only the blond knew...

**"Right, you know about Kurama, so what?! It's not like I'm going to turn into a monster just because I use some of ****his power."** He said as he clenched his fists. Talking like this really didn't help the situation they were in.

"Don't get me wrong Naruto-kun. I never knew that you possessed such a beautiful power within you." He pointed his sword at the blond. "But explaining it now would be pointless. Freedom is only the distance between the hunter and his prey. Sadly, the distance between you and me now-" Before could finish his sentence, he heard a familiar noise but before he was able to turn around Sasuke was already behind him on a tree, forming several hand seals.

"I don't like to be ignored. **Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu! _(Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu)_**" He then created a volley of small fireballs and sent them towards Orochimaru in an unpredictable manner. Not even giving a small chance to get away, Naruto used his Body Flicker Jutsu at the same time to grab him. He wasn't afraid from the fireballs thanks to Kurama's chakra cloak.

Using his agility, Orochimaru grabbed the blond by the throat and threw him to the incoming fireballs like he was just a rag doll. Thanks to this sudden movement, the phoenix flower jutsu's user lowered his guard and failed to notice that the snake-summoner was now right next to him with his blade. When he turned his head to face him, it was already too late.

The raven-haired boy desperately tried to jump back but the distance was too small to evade from the incoming attack completely.

**SLICE**

"Gah!"

Blood splatters to the tree while the fireballs met with Naruto's body. Acting on his instinct, Sasuke jumped back down to the ground as he tries to endure the pain that he felt coming from his eyes. That's when he realised it. 'My eyes...' He fell to his knees while covering his eyes.

"In the end, you did surprise me!" Orochimaru smirked from his spot. He knew the Uchiha will be interesting but he never thought that he could survive his high speed slash. "You used your eyes to track my movements and counter my attack but your body didn't have enough time to react." Too bad he destroyed his eyes. They could have been useful to him in the future.

**"Sasuke!"** Naruto shouted as he walked out of the flames. His chakra cloak successfully deflected much of the jutsu and immediately started to heal the blond's wounds. Naruto's anger greatly increased when he saw his friend in pain.

_**'Get a hold of yourself Meatbag! If you'll use more of my chakra, your body won't be able to endure it anymore!'**_ Kurama grunted in the blond's mind but no response could be heard.

Orochimaru gazed at the raging blond as he jumped down from the tree. Raising his hand, a strange purple circle appeared near his open palm as the atmosphere changed around Naruto. "Playtime is over! It's time to finish the job."

**"Serpent Temple _(Jasetsu)_"** He summoned a swarm of big snake-like chains that appeared from the ground in an instant and captured the blond without giving him time to react. The snakes quickly sinked their fangs into his arms, legs, chest, and neck. All that Naruto could do was to wide his eyes. It was almost like they trying to suck out a part of his power out of his body.

After a few seconds, the snakes grip loosen up and they disappeared as quickly as they came. The surprised blond was unable to say anything. He felt...empty? Soon, he found his answer. He looked at his body as he saw Kurama's chakra separating from him and disappearing into the air. His enhanced vision soon ceased to exist when his slitted eyes turned back to normal. He shivered in fear as the emptiness growed as the red chakra left him.

**"M-My cha**kra... is gone?!" He muttered and looked up to his opponent in fear. He became useless in only ten seconds!

"Kukuku... It was a success, Master will be pleased. Thanks to this technique, I was able to permanently shut down what you and your people calls, the Chakra System. Even with my research, it took me almost a whole year to figure it out." He said it out loud sarcastically as he held a red serpent in his left hand. The fear and sorrow in the Uzumaki's eyes amused him to no end. "It's over!" He charged forward and prepared his sword to pierce through Naruto's body but in a blink of an eye, a raven-haired boy with a blue, short-sleeved shirt appeared between them.

**STAB**

The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed through the forest.

"Geez... A-All you ever do is annoy the hell out of me. You're at a disadvantage... So what?! That never stopped you before." Sasuke said weakly, facing Naruto with his back. The Uzumaki couldn't say a word.

With the last drop of his chakra, the Uchiha was able to pinpoint the location and successfully protect the blond, but without his sight, the sword pierced through his chest. Suddenly, all the pain he felt disappeared. Orochimaru gave a disappointed look and shook his head.

"The blade went right through your lung. A punctured lung along with the internal bleeding can result in death within 3-15 minutes if untreated and I assume your little friend there won't be able to help you." He smirked as he started to slowly pull the Kusanagi out of the half-dead Uchiha before the boy grabbed his right arm.

"Then let's end this quickly!" Sasuke smiled as he gathered his remaining strength and pushed Naruto away from him. Releasing his hold from Orochimaru, the Uchiha placed the remaining two paper bombs on the snake-summoner's forearm as he pulled out the blade out of Sasuke's body.

Feeling unneccessary to remove them by force, Orochimaru took the Kusanagi in his left hand and in a swift motion, severed his right arm.

**BOOM!**

Without his chakra cloak to defend him, the explosion easily sent the blond back to a nearby tree. As he crashed into it, the metal plate on his headband immediately shattered. Falling to the ground, Naruto began to cough up blood.

"D-Da...Damn it! Why? Why did you save me?" Tears started to gather in his eyes as Sasuke's lifeless body just laid on the ground near the crater what the explosion created._ 'You still had your family and your dream to find __Itachi...'_

After the smoke cleared, a mischievous chuckle erupted in the air. "Kukuku. It's only us now!" He was unharmed... Except his right arm.

"Y-You cut off your own arm?" Said Naruto weakly. After observing the wound, fear had hit him once again. Nothing came out of it, there was no blood in his body.

"It was more fun this way. It always gives me pleasure to see my prey's desperate face."

"This can't be happening...This isn't real... WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS?" Naruto couldn't believe this. Two hours ago he happily enjoyed his time with his sensei and friends...but now, after what this man did in only one hour...

"Let me ask you this, Naruto-kun." Orochimaru stepped closer to the blond. "What or who decides what is right and wrong? Those who stand at the top can decide the definition of _'Evil'._"

...

"Then what if it's not me but you who's _EVIL_? What if I actually save your world from the pain and sorrow you will cause in the future by killing you right here and there?" He crouched down next to the bleeding Uzumaki.

"...Huh? From... my...world?" Instead of shocked, Naruto was now confused. What did this mean? He wanted to do all of this just to show him how does it feel like to lose his friends?

"The world is dark...The future is dark. There's no such thing as a happy ending. You can live in the light but you'll never escape from your shadow. **Open your eyes!**" He stood up and started to leave him behind, much to the blond's surprise. "Will you stain your hands in _EVIL_ in order to defeat _EVIL_?"

"Y-You..." Naruto whispered, gaining Orochimaru's attention as he glanced back to him over his shoulder. "DON'T SCREW WITH ME! They were my teammates, my friends and you killed them...There is no fucking way I am letting you leave!" Despite his wounds, Naruto got up from the ground and charged towards him. "I WILL..."

**"Dead Wave! (_Deddo Vēvu_)"** Said an unknown voice behind him and a small dark purple energy beam shot through Naruto's right shoulder.

The blond stopped in his tracks as his body becomes heavy like it's paralyzed. Unable to bear the pain, he fell to his knees.

_'What the hell... Did I just...?'_ He no longer had the strength to look back who attacked him. Soon, Naruto passed out as his whole body met the ground. The attacker then slowly went close to the boy, revealing his identity.

"What is the meaning of this? I thought you were in a hurry?!" A man with long, dark red hair smirked as he eyed the boy with disgust. Around his neck is medallion with two light ribbons falling down from it. "I take it your little quest was a success?"

"Why do you always have to ruin my fun... Master Jose?" Orochimaru rolled his eyes as the red serpent came out of his left sleeve. "But yes, It's done. With this, I'm sure you can erase_ them_ from the magic world. Kukuku."

"Then let's go, I already feel Makarov's magic. The sooner you use _that_ on me, the better. And where's that damn purple snake of yours?" He quickly turned away.

Before leaving, Orochimaru looked back to the unconscious Naruto. _'You did well... It's already begun.'_ He thought as he saw a small amount of dark purple energy flowing out of his wounds. Not wasting any more time, Jose along with Orochimaru, disappeared in a flash.

* * *

10 minutes later.

Two shadows appeared next to Naruto. They looked around with wide eyes, not believing what may have happened. "God! What happened to these poor childs?" Whispered an extremely short, elderly man with a thick white mustache.

"Makarov! This one is still alive." Said a slim and tall elderly woman with pink hair, examining the unconscious blond. "But it's strange. Even with all those wounds, his life is not in danger." She widened her eyes. "This is..."

"What's going on Porlyusica?" After seeing the wounded Uzumaki, he imitated her expression. "This magic power... There's no mistake. How low have you fallen, Jose." He clenched his fists in anger but immediately got interrupted by the pink-haired woman.

"Worry about that later but first, look at the boy!" She touched Naruto's right shoulder, where Jose's attack pierced him. "This wound is regenerating at an incredible speed. I don't know how but it's like his body consumed the magic particles of the attack what went through him. Almost like he synchronised with it... Or more like corrupted by it." Looking at him only confused her more.

"That still doesn't change the fack the he needs help. Your house is on the other side of the forest so it's faster if we bring him to the Guild's Infirmary." Makarov looked at her with a worried look. "I don't know how did he possibly gather Jose's magic to heal that wound but we can worry about it after his recovery." He can't just let a young boy to wake up alone after what he possibly went through. Makarov looked at his companion.

"Tsk! Fine I'll go with you but I leave right after I'm done." A thick mark could be seen on her face. "What about the other one? I doubt that he possessed the same kind of ability like this boy."

"I'll bury him here."

_'Jose...' _The old man shook his head once again.

* * *

End of the Prologue.

**_To be Continued..._**

* * *

_Next Time in Chapter 1:_

_Makarov stood behind the still emotionless Naruto at the guild's entrance. He couldn't blame him. He's still __young, not mentioning that Naruto just witnessed the death of his friends. The old man cleared his throat and looked at __the blond's back with a serious expression. _

_"I don't know much about you Naruto but if you'll keep going on like this, then __you might even lose yourself. I can't just let a young man without a home or a family to wonder around the world. __Not if I can help it. Why don't you join Fairy Tail? You could share your burden with the rest of us." He questioned. "There are people who enjoy being alone, but __there isn't a single person who can bear solitude."_

_Naruto looked back to the old Guild Master as he grabbed the handle. Orochimaru's voice echoed in his head. __'There's no such thing as a happy ending. You can live in the light but you'll never escape from your shadow__.' He rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders without looking back. _

_"I'm not interested."_

_With that, he stepped out of the guild._

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Naruto's personality will slightly change after this chapter (nothing serious..._I think?_) and as for the romance... The Fateful Meeting will be somewhere in Chapter 3 or 4 (after a big timeskip).**

**The story will contain 2 major timeskips:  
- One, after Chapter 1.  
- Two, right before the start of the canon storyline.  
**


	5. Chapter 1: Live!

**The Darkness Inside Us**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

Hey **Everyone!** Now that the Prologue is over I can let my imagination run loose. Also I'm planning to introduce Knightwalker in Chapter 3, so please bear with me until then. I also made a guide about Naruto's _currently_ showed powers (Description, Magic Type etc.).

"Regular Speech"

_'Regular Thoughts'_

**"Demon/Monster Speech; Spell and Jutsu names"**

_**'Demon/Monster Thoughts'**_

**Pairing:** Naruto x Erza Knightwalker

* * *

**Chapter: 1.**

**.c*A s*lo*E (A little Puzzle...?)**

**"Live!"**

Location: **Naruto's Mindscape**

***Drip***

...

***Drip***

Pain... That was all he could feel. Endless pain. Much to his surprise, it didn't come from his wounds but from his heart. Why, why him? "How am I still alive?" Naruto muttered under his breath as he found himself standing right in front of Kurama's cage. The blond just stood there without showing any kind of emotion.

**"Heh, you're not even grateful to your little Uchiha friend for saving your life back there?"** That's when Naruto finally realised he wasn't alone. Seeing Kurama made him feel relived but at the same time, worried. Didn't he just lost all of his chakra a while ago when he faced that damn Orochimaru? Maybe... maybe there is still hope?!

"K-Kurama? You're still here? I thought that you-" Naruto didn't want to sound rude, but before he was able to finish his sentence, the Kyuubi interrupted him.

**"Sorry to disappoint you... but I won't be here much longer. Thanks to the seal on your stomach, we are- or we ****were connected when that filthy snake used that technique on you. With me inside you, he got me too... My chakra is ****fading."** Kurama said weakly as he could barely keep his eyes open. **"I tried to heal your wounds with my remaining ****power, but something or rather someone made it impossible for my chakra to reach your body. All I could do is to ****summon you here."** He moved his head slightly to look at the standing Naruto in front of him.

"You too?" That's all Naruto was able to say as he looked into the Nine-Tailes eyes.

**"I summoned you here to tell you the consequences for a Jinchuuriki who's lost his Tailed-Beast."** He paused for a little while to wait for Naruto's response but feeling that the blond no longer cared about all this Kurama continued. **"This process is almost exactly the same as if someone would forcefully rip me out of you. No matter how strong you are, it's impossible to a Jinchuuriki stay alive after it."** At this statement Naruto looked up to the rusty ceiling.

"Maybe it's for the best." He chuckled as tears started to fall from his eyes. "Konoha will finally get rid of the Uzumaki Naruto they hated so much. I don't want to disappoint Sasuke by saying this, but still, I have nothing left! What am I supposed to do?" Soon, he found his eyes looking back to the Kyuubi. Kurama didn't blame the boy. After what happened and what that Orochimaru said to him, he is surprised that the blond was able to say a single word. But his mental state is far worse than it looked like from the outside.

"In fact, you heard when I talked to the old man about this whole Jinchuuriki thing. So what is your true intention? Or you just want to yell or even laugh at me for being so careless?" He clenched his fists as he said those words._ 'If only I were stronger...'_

**"I want to say Goodbye."**

"Huh?!"

**"Thanks to me, you're going to die when I disappear but unlike you... It's impossible to permanently kill a Tailed ****Beast. After a couple of years, I'll regain my chakra and body in the Elemental Nations. Also while you're up there, ****kick God's ass in my place..."** Kurama grinned.

"Hehe. You are really out of your character you know." Naruto wiped his tears off from his face.

**"You too with that face."** The Kyuubi grunted. After a minute of silence, his body begins to glow as his chakra finally started to run out.

Placing his left hand on his shoulder where the strange purple beam hit him, Naruto got confused yet again. "But I don't understand, you said that you couldn't heal me..." He opened the hole on his grey jumpsuit to reveal the place where he got hit. "Then why is it that my wounds disappeared all of a sudden? I can only feel pain coming from my heart, but that's it." He sadly said. If it wasn't Kurama's doing, then who's...?

**"What?! How did he do it?!"**

"He?" What's this all about... He supposed to die in the next few minutes so whoever healed him on the outside, it's pointless.

***Clap***

A loud clap echoed through Naruto's head as Kurama's body disappeared right after it in an instant without any last words. Naruto quickly turned around towards the sound but soon widened his eyes when he saw the source where it come from.

***Clap* *Clap* *Clap***

_'A man?'_ He spotted a man, sitting in an elegant armchair next to a small desk at the far end of the room. He wears tuxedo with a top hat shadowing his eyes. The man with medium long black hair with a long segmented pony-tail reached forward towards the desk and grabbed a glass of wine with his right hand. Holding the glass between his middle and ring finger he looked up to the blond with a smile.

**"I wonder... Would you happen to be... Uzumaki Naruto-kun?"** The man said as the small figure of Naruto got into a fighting stance.

"Who the hell are y-"

***Thud***

"Gah..." The blond fell to his knees as the pain coming from his heart drastically increased. 'Damn it, not now! Just... a minute...!' He knew what is gonna happen. With this intense pain in his heart, he'll die in less than 30 seconds. But still, he didn't know what is going on with this man. He used his hands to support himself, now he was the one who had to look up.

**"Oh~ Still want to live I see?"** He said as he unboxed a fresh and new deck of cards from his pocket. He carefully placed the cards on the table as the glass in his hand shattered into nothing. **"Fine, I show you a little trick if you can last for a minute."** He smiled turned into a grin.

For a minute? That's impossible for him. He only had a couple of seconds left. Before realising it, the numbness took over his hands and Naruto collapsed into the shallow, cold water.

_'I can't breath... I can't speak... I can't move...'_ With these thoughts he closed his eyes...slowly.

* * *

...

"D***..."

"D**e..."

"Dobe?!"

Naruto's eyes shot open to the loud shout coming from his right. He wanted to shout something back but it was impossible after what he saw.

"Sa-Sasuke?" Was the first thing he could say. "H-How? But in the forest... You..."He stuttered as he couldn't believe what he see. Meanwhile, Sasuke just sighed and gave him a good slap on his face.

"What the hell are you talking about? What forest? We're still in Jirōchō-san's mansion!" Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and walked back to the table... Wait, a table? They were in a dining hall! Jirōchō san's dining hall!

Looking around and observing his surroundings, he widened his eyes. 'What is going on and why does my cheek hurts when this is just an illusion. I died...' He scratched his now red cheek and walked after his teammate.

"I'm so sorry, Jirōchō-san. Please forgive Naruto for his behavior, it's probably because he ate too much ramen." Naruto's second teammate, Sakura said with his usual smile as she bowed his head to Jirōchō while sitting at the table and glaring at the blond. Naruto stopped for a second to think.

_'I don't understand...'_

"What are you waiting for young man? Take a seat." Jirōchō chuckled as he turned his head towards the standing blond. He sat at the end of the table with Sasuke on his left and Sakura on his right.

"R-Right!" Naruto did as the man say and took a seat next to Sasuke.

"Now that I think about it, I never had the time to talk with you young man. Can you tell me something about yourself?" Jirōchō said with a smile. This seemed to cheer up the blond.

"Yeah! After you started to stuff all those ramens in your mouth in one go, you passed out without saying anything. You were just too useful." Sasuke said in his sarcastic tone to annoy Naruto.

"DAMN YOU SASUKE! I AM useful!" Naruto shouted. "I'm sorry Jirōchō-san!" He apologised. "Alright, alright let's do this! I'm from the Country of Fire, the Hidden Village of Konoha. My likes are Cup Ramen and my friends. What I dislike is that a lot of people underestimates me without knowing my full strength. Also, my dream is..."

"To be a dumbass."

"To be a dumba- HEY!" Naruto now screamed at Sasuke for interrupting his awesome speech. "Why you..." He wanted to tell him a piece of his mind but to his surprise, he was able to control his emotions much better since the last time he pissed him off.

"Hahaha. You three really ARE unique. Anyway, I hope all of you are satisfied with the dinner." Jirōchō said.  
"Let's head back to our room." He stood up as several servants entered the room to clean up the table.

"I have to say, the dinner was really delicious, Jirōchō-san!" Says a happy Sakura as she smiled to him. Rice bowl, onigiri, curry, fish cakes, boiled eggs, deep-fried pork cutlets, the chef made them anything what they wanted. Hell, even Naruto got his 6 bowls of Ramen.

After they finished with the dinner, the three Genin and Jirōchō made their way out to the backyard. _'Man, this place is like a labyrinth.'_ Sighed Naruto, sliding the door open. Jirōchō waved to them and made his way towards his room.

Inside the two male Genins room, Naruto smiled like he regained something what he once lost. After a long  
conversation with Sasuke, the blond started to feel tired.

***YAWN***

"Alright, I think we can call this a night, right Sasuke? We all have a long walk waiting for us back tomorrow." He started to prepare his futon when Sasuke tapped his shoulder. He turned around to face him.

"Naruto. Is this what you really want right now in this very moment?" Sasuke said as he gazed down to the floor. "For me, it doesn't matter since it's pointless to even ask for it. After what Orochimaru did to me, I feel nothing. You really want to live here?"

"Orochimaru?" Naruto repeated his name. "So all of those were..." His legs gave out and he fell to his knees. He despairingly looked up to his _FORMER_ teammate.

"What do you want, Naruto?" Sasuke activated his Sharingan while looking into his eyes.

"I..."

...

"I..." Naruto closed his eyes.

...

* * *

"I want to live..."

**"Hm?!"**

"I don't care who thinks I'm right. I'll rip everyone apart who get's in my way!" Naruto said whispered as he used his remaining strength to rise up from the ground. "I WANT TO LIVE!" He screamed in pain as the numbness slowly returned to his limbs.

The black-haired man looked at the suffering boy and clapped his hand once again. **"Very well!"** Seconds later, shadows started to consume the Uzumaki as he grit his teeth. Waiting for the blond, the mysterious man picked up an empty card from the desk and observed it. **"Let's see who will you become..."**

As the shadows left his body, Naruto felt like he could lift a mountain. He gazed at his hand and clenched fists. "I-I'm still alive?!" Standing up on his feet, Naruto found himself in a completely different area, a room to be precise. It was dark and heavily decorated with different pictures all over the walls. Above his head hung an elaborate crystal chandelier. There were no doors or windows, it was almost like he's in a cell. Is this really his mind?

**"Yes you are boy."** Said the man as a card starts to spin on his index finger.** "In this world, there are three types of people."** He looked up to the ceiling. **"The 'Monster' who stands up against the world in order to make it right... The 'Hero' who defeats it in order to keep the world as it is... And the One who follows in one of their footsteps, You!"** The card stopped right after he said his last words. Looking at the card, he chuckles and showed it to the still shocked Uzumaki.

**"The King of Hearts... Up to this point, I expected something more abnormal from you like a Joker, but oh ****well I guess this is already in the past."** He crushed the card like it was glass and gazed towards Naruto. **"So, how do you like my gift?"**

"Gift?" Naruto replied but soon felt a strange sensation coming from his right eye. Touching his right cheek he could immediately feel the difference as his eyes reacted differently to the surroundings. "What is this?"

**"The trick what I told you five minutes ago. I call it the Mirage Eye (_Shinkirou no Me_). Use it or ****if you don't like it** gauge it out, it's your choice."

"Alright but how does it work?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

**"Tch. Find out yourself. I'm not your guardian."** The man said in an irritated tone.

"Then why the hell did you save me? You could have let me die." Naruto gritted his teeth. He don't... or can't understand this man. Before he could continue, a flying card stopped right in front of his head. At first it didn't look dangerous but moments later, it started to rot away.

**"Don't get me wrong Boy! I only saved you because you wanted to live."** He said as his face turned deadly serious. His eyes pierced through Naruto's soul even if the blond couldn't see them. **"I'm not your friend OR your enemy. To be honest, I'd rather confuse than help the people around me."** His expression changed from serious to uninterested. **"Now, hurry up and leave. I want to sleep."**

"Wait! I get it but then what do you want? There has to be something?! If we're not on the same side, then why did you help me!" Naruto frowned.

**"There IS one thing that you can do for me."** He placed one of his hand on the top-hat to let the blond see his blood-red eyes.

**"Entertain me!"** Was the last thing Naruto heard before the room and everything else shattered around him.

* * *

Location:** Fairy Tail.**  
Year:** X777.  
**

"Look Master, he's waking up!" He heard a faint voice as he finally opened his eyes. The first thing that he could see was...red... blood maybe? no, it's brighter than that. His vision cleared as his eyes adjusted to the light. He remained silent as he looked around the room. Spotting three people in the room, Naruto raised his head.

"It was hair?" He mumbled to himself as he looked at the first person he saw. A girl with long, scarlet hair and brown eyes looked at him while sitting in a chair next to his bed. She's probably around the same age as him. Looking at his left he sighted an extremely short, elderly man. His smiling face really freaked Naruto out. The blond never had the time to look at the third one because he left in a hurry. All he could see was a short, dark-coloured hair.

"How are you feeling young man?" Asked the elderly man, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Umm...Like I slept for a month." He scratched his neck. "How long was I out and where am I... This time?" He quietly added the last part that only the old man could hear.

"You're in Fairy Tail my boy! One of the strongest guild in the Kingdom of Fiore. This is the infirmary and we brought you here yesterday." He said cheerfully. Naruto, however looked at him in horror.

"Fiore...? Guild...? What are they? I-I'm still in the Elemental Nations right?" But somewhere deep inside, he already know the answer.

"Erza, can you give us some time to talk?" The old man smiled at her while the girl nodded.

"Yes Master." She quietly left the room.

Naruto pretty much just stared at the ceiling while he laid in the bed.

"This will be really hard for you to accept. You've been through a lot yet you're still so young..." He started. "But first, why don't you introduce yourself? My name is Makarov Dreyar the 3rd Guild Master of Fairy Tail. Nice to meetcha!"

"I'm Uzumaki...Naruto." He is no longer the happy and cheerful teen he once was...

"Hey Erza!" The red-head stopped in her movement as she heard a familiar voice coming from behind right after she left the infirmary. Natsu Dragneel, a carefree boy with black eyes and spiky pink-colored hair, who didn't look older than 11 years old approached Erza with a grin on his face. "Is he alright? Oh man, I bet that guy is so strong that's why I have to fight with hi-" Natsu couldn't finish it as a demonic Erza grabbed him by the shoulder and stared into his eyes.

"**N**_a_**T**_s_**U**" She smiled. "He's lucky to be alive. I hope you can keep these urges under control for the time being until he recovers... Okay?" Natsu paled as Erza's demonic visage came into play, the serene smile on her face only made it creepier.

"Y-Yeah!" Natsu gave her a thumbs up and quickly went back to the other guild members.

Fairy Tail was lively as ever. Everyone did what they were normaly doing. Talking, drinking or searching for a job, in here Fairy Tail, everyone were equal. After Erza went back to her seat, a small laugh could be heard.

"Hahaha, that's what you get for being dumb Flame Brain!" Gray Fullbuster, an 11 years old boy with spiky black-colored hair and dark blue eyes stared at the still frustrated Natsu, smacking him on the shoulder.

Before Gray could react, Natsu quickly hit him back but on his face.

"Gah... What are you doing?"

"You hit me just now, right?" Natsu replied.

"I didn't hit you that hard!" Gray half-screamed back as he punched him back.

"Gray! You..!"

"Want to fight retard?!"

"Yeah, let's do this!" Then both of them began to exchange blows and kicks at a speed that the others could just barely see.

Sitting at one of the tables, two people smirked at the two boys. "Hey Makao! What do you think, 30 seconds?" Said a man with which is kept in an ostentatious pompadour-like style that protrudes frontwards from the top of his head in a large, curly and fluffy tuft.

"Nah Wakaba, five will be more than enough." Replied Makao who has short, straight, slicked back dark blue hair. They started to count while watching Natsu's and Gray's fight.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

"Will you two cut it out already?" Shouted a raging Erza as she grabbed both Natsu and Gray by their wrist.

"HE STARTED IT!" They pointed at each other. Yes, just a normal day in Fairy Tail...except...

* * *

Naruto remained silent as he changed his clothes to a simple long grey-sleeved black shirt and blue jeans. "I'm sorry about the clothes, these were the only ones that I could find in the storage." Makarov said with a sigh. Telling the whole story about Fiore was easier than he thought. "You surprised me Naruto. I thought you'd be more concerned about your situation."

"Why? I'm stuck here in Fioro-Fiora or whatever. There's nothing I can do unless I learn how to travel through dimensions and I doubt I can learn it from that bastard Orochimaru." Naruto clenches his fists as he said that name. Looking into a nearby mirror, the blond finally noticed that a lot of changes had happened to his body. He went closer to it.

"My Eye?!" First, his right eye completely changed. _'So this is the **Mirage Eye**.'_ The iris in his right eye was now blood-red and it gained a black ring around the pupil. Second, his** Eight Trigrams Seal** that once the Third Hokage mentioned. Pulling up his shirt he was shocked to see that the seal is no longer there. _'So that guy completely removed the seal?!'_ Naruto remembered the black-haired man with the top-hat.

"You know anything about that eye my boy?" Makarov asked but Naruto shooked his head. "Then I suggest to restrain yourself from using it. It could be dangerous to the others."

"Don't worry Makarov-san." The blond grabbed his kunai pouch and placed it in a bag. "But I also want to ask something. Is there a reason why I have this strange sensation in my body? It's almost like chakra but in a more brighter form." He place his hand on his chest.

***Sigh*** "So it's true. After we found you in the forest your body already started to absorb the **Eternano** in order to remove the dark magic particles from your shoulder-wound." He pointed to the said wound. "But it was too late because those particles are already fused with what you call, **Chakra Network**. You said that you've lost your chakra in the fight against this Orochimaru. I'm not one hundred percent sure how or why did this happen, but my guess is that this dark Eternano merged with your Chakra System, creating your own Magic Container."

...

"Umm...What is this Eternano again?" Naruto raised his hand while Makarov made a noise halfway between a groan and a sigh.

"Eternano is the term coined to name particles of Magic. It dwells inside all living organisms and throughout the atmosphere and now in you." He finished with another sigh.

"I see. I'm grateful for helping me but I think it's time for me to leave." Naruto said, leaving the infirmary much to the old man's surprise. He wanted to avoid any kind of eye contact inside this 'guild' so he closed his eyes and approached the entrance but soon stopped. He looked back from the corner of his eyes to see that Makarov is standing behind him with a serious expression.

He looked at the still emotionless Naruto near the guild's entrance. He couldn't blame him. He's still young, not mentioning that Naruto just witnessed his friend's death. The old man cleared his throat and looked at the blonde with a serious look.

"I don't know much about you Naruto but if you'll keep going on like this, then you might even lose yourself. I can't just let a young man without a home or a family to wonder around the world. Not if I can help it. Why don't you join Fairy Tail?" He questioned. "There are people that enjoy being alone, but there isn't a single person who can bear solitude." Naruto looked back to the old Guild Master as he grabbed the handle. Orochimaru's words echoed in his head.

_'There's no such thing as a happy ending. You can live in the light but you'll never escape from the shadows __around you.'_ He rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not interested." With that, he stepped out of the guild.

The guild fell in silence for some time before Erza walked towards Makarov. "Master! Is everything alright?" She asked worriedly.

The old man shook his head. "This is not good. At this rate, the boy will be engulfed by the darkness, I can see it in his eyes." He turned to the red-head. "Erza! I'm sorry, I know it should be my role but can you talk to the boy? He lost his friends and almost died in a battle yesterday."

"Of course! Also, I have an idea." She said while preparing her sword.

"I think I know where he is." The Master sighed again.

* * *

Location:** East Forest**

***Tap* **

***Tap* **

***Tap***

A lone figure walked slowly in the large forest. Staring down at his feet, he never noticed the many different animals around him. Even if the climate appears to be warm, deep inside, Naruto shivered. The blond stopped the instant as he saw a large stone with a bouquet of flowers in front of it.

"This must be it." Naruto whispered while crouching as he grabs a kunai with his left hand and starts to etch his friend's name into to stone. _'He sent me to this world, killed my teammates and nullified my powers but I swear, that bastard is gonna pay.'_ Finishing his work, he cleaned the stone with his sleeve.

**Uchiha Sasuke: A friend.  
(うちはサスケ)  
**

"You look frustrated" Came a new voice behind him. Turning his head, he spotted a red-haired girl in an armor, holding a normal sword in her right hand.

"You're that girl from the guild... Erza, maybe?" This surprised her.

"Oh, you know my name?" Erza stepped closer to the blond. "Is it true you want to throw your life away just to exact some misguided idea of revenge?" Her eyes seem to stun him for a moment.

"It has nothing to do with you." He answer and starts to walk away from her.

"Running away?" She pointed her sword at him. Naruto shot a glare at Erza.

"Judging by your stance and aura, I take it you want to fight with me? Why?" He remained still as the red-haired girl looked at him with determined eyes.

"I want to make sure of something." She didn't even flinch while holding the sword.

"Do what you want but know that I won't ho-" Before he was able to finish his sentence, the girl moved and slashed in the young Naruto's direction. Missing it's target on purpose, the blade nicked the Uzumaki's cheek.

_'What the hell?'_

"I won't either." Erza answered as she slowly stepped back to her original spot. "I'm Erza Scarlet. Pleased to meet  
you."

"Uzumaki Naruto. Same here." Soon, his bored and emotionless face quickly changed to an exited and joyful one. He reached up and wiped the blood from his cheek.

But this quiet moment didn't last long as the red-head mage started attacking him in a furry, switching between jabs and fast strikes. For a short time, Naruto was able to jump, sidestep or even spin out of the sword's way until he started to feel the shockwaves scratching his skin each time he dodge._ 'She's fast!'_

* * *

Somewhere not far from there, two people stood near a giant tree.

"Thank you for healing him, Porlyusica-san. Maybe Naruto looks like a cold, flustered kid but deep inside he is a kind and cheerful person." Said a man who had short, unkempt, dark-coloured hair and a brown coat with a Fairy Tail symbol on it's back.

"Hmph. You should worry about him a little, after all you two are now in the same boat." Porlyusica said with a frown.

"Maybe, but I hope he can find his path on his own." The dark-haired man then disappeared before the elderly woman could notice.

"I hate it when he does that." She gained a tick mark on her forehead. Looking back to the two fighter, she could already tell that the blond is in a tight situation.

* * *

...

_'So far so good.'_ Naruto thought as he dodged from an incoming uppercut slash._ 'I can see her movements. I can __respond. I just have to focus on her sword then surprise her when there's an opening.'_ He sidestepped from an incoming vertical strike._ 'Now!'_ Dashing forward while her arm is still stretched, he aimed a swift blow directly towards her midsection.

***Grab***

"Wha-?" He didn't have time to think as a powerful sidekick sent him to a nearby tree. A loud crack could be heard as the blond's back connected with it. "Gah..." He sat up while looking at a wide-eyed Erza.

"I'm impressed. Normally I dodge from a simple punch but you slipped through my guard. Unfortunately, you focused too much on my sword that you failed to notice my left hand that was ready to block your attack." Moments later, she charged forward.

"Oh crap!" Naruto stepped back but soon founds his way block by the tree. _'Tch. Doesn't matter, I'll outnumber her in a second'_ He them made a cross with his fingers and shouted. "**Shadow Clo-**" That's when it hit him._ 'My chakra... Damn, she's too close!'_ Her sword was now only inches away from his chest.

"You've lost!"

***Stab***

...

"Huh?" Waiting for the pain what never came, he looked over to his right only to see Erza staring at her sword with wide eyes. Instead of his chest, the sword connected with the tree. _'Sh-She stabbed the tree? Then why is she surprised? Wait...'_

_'She missed?/I missed?'_ Not taking any chances, Naruto jumped back from the red-head.

"A-Are you out of your mind? You could have killed me with that!" The annoyance on Naruto's face would have been funny, if the situation was different. The still shocked Erza then looked at the blond with a curious face.

"I see, so it was your eye." She said and Naruto widened his eyes. _HE_ did it? " I don't know what was that magic, but you successfully changed my sword's way away from your chest. "

_'But I didn't do anything...'_ Then he remembered his failed attempt to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu._ 'So instead of my non-existent chakra, I used that Eternano thing what the old man told me?!' _He touched his Mirage eye while grinning.

"Hehe." Erza chuckled.

"What?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing. I'm happy to see that you're not just a cold-hearted person." She smiled while the blond gained a tick mark on his forehead.

"That hurts you know... Anyway let's continue!" He suggested as Erza got into her usual stance and charged forward.

Foreseeing her action, Naruto quickly ducked under the first strike from Erza who slashed at his head with the sword._ 'I get it. She's saying that I focus too much on a single thing and fail to notice my surroundings. In that case...'_ He quickly grabbed the kunai what he used on the large stone and effortlessly parried her strike. _'...I __just don't care about the sword.'_ While still blocking her sword, Naruto aims a right kick forcing Erza to flip backwards.

"Durability." Was all she said before Naruto's kunai started to crack then shattered.

"Eeeh? Seriously?"... _'I have no other option than to use that magic something again.' _He closed his eyes as he started to focus._ 'Last time, I tried to use my Shadow Clone Jutsu... Let's see what happens if I concentrate my __power all around my body...'_ He opened his eyes only to see Erza standing in front of him. _'Oh shi-'_ The sword headed straight to his head.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, but the blade was already only inches away from his face. "Heh. I finally figured it out." Before the blade could met with Naruto's head, a dark, massive magic aura explodes from within his body and repelling back the red-head's sword. Sensing the danger, Erza swiftly jumped back while eyeing the blond's magic power.

"Darkness magic? (_Yami no Mahō_)"

"***Pant*** That didn't go as planned." As his magic disappears into the air, Naruto's vision started to blur. "I can't really control it yet." He looked at Erza and much to his surprise, she smiled.

"Thank you for sparring with me Naruto!" She bowed and sheathed her weapon. " Now I can see that you're not like him. Actually, you're not as bad as you look."

"I don't really know what was the point of all this but umm, thanks... I guess? To tell the truth I don't really know how to use these powers but-" He replied and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm not talking about your strength but your heart." She pointed to his chest from the distance.

"M-My heart?"

"Yeah, you're a good person." Naruto widened his eyes. She thought that he was an evil person?

"What do you mean?" Looking into her eyes, Naruto could see her sadness as she stepped closer to him.

"Some time ago, I met with a very kind boy who cared deeply for his friends. I heard what happened to you and how you reacted from Master and I thought that you are just like he was." She sighed.

"And... What happened to _him_?" He immediately regretted his decision.

"He..." She gazed down. "He changed. Someone or something possessed him and he become obsessed with his powers. Now, he sees his actions as a game, even if said game results in the loss of lives, his very own included." She clenched her fists tightly. "I just had to make sure you won't become like him." Erza looked up to see his face. "You're not the only one..."

"H-Huh?" He stuttered

"All of us Fairy Tail wizards have our own issue of some sort." These words seems to reach the Uzumaki. "But after joining Fairy Tail... I found a new family like everyone else. We take care of each other, that's why..." She reached out her hand. "You don't need to throw your life away. Your friend protected you for a reason after all."

"How do you know?" Naruto couldn't help but stare at her hand and think about what he should do.

"Master told me your story after you left." They both stayed like a statue for at least 30 seconds before Naruto looked up into her eyes.

"Jeez, why are you so persistent?" He sighed as a smile carves onto his face. It was so small that she could barely notice it. "Fine, but don't expect a hug." He shook Erza's hand as she slightly blushed. "Oh, and one more thing." He said as they beginned to walk back to the guild.

"What is it?"

"You mentioned that Makarov-sa-, nah screw this... You mentioned that the Old man told you a thing or two about me." She nodded. "Then that means you know I'm not from this... Erm, Fiore?"

"Yes, I know." She nodded again as Naruto deadpanned.

"You're not even surprised or at least suspicious?"

"Why? Master trusts you, that's all I need." Erza said seriously. "You will understand."

_'Man I really hope there is a ramen stand in the town.'_

And then, both of them left the forest behind their back.

* * *

10 minutes later.  
Location: **Fairy Tail.**

At the guild, a very anxious Makarov approached the two with a mug of beer in his hand. "Ah Naruto, my boy! I see that Erza is finally convinced you!" He waved his hand at them while drinking his beer.

"Yeah, it still hurts." Naruto sweatdropped as he scratched his hip where Erza's sidekick hit him.

"Hmmm, so you decided to join Fairy Tail?" He asked.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Yeah, but there's no way I can forgive what that bastard did." His Mirage Eye started to twitch.

"I understand BUT... Let's leave all this behind for the day..." He jumped up to the guild's second floor and raised his mug. "LISTEN WELL!" Everyone in the guild turned towards the Master. "Power that surpasses reason is still born from reason. Magic is not a miraculous power. It comes from your entire soul! Don't let your powers consume you, so control and use it to protect the people you cherish and love. Follow the path _YOU_ believe in! That's what Fairy Tail wizard's do!" He then points his index finger in the air, showing Fairy Tail's original hand sign.

For the very first time in this world, Naruto felt happy. His smirk soon changed to a real smile as everyone in the guild started to yell. 'Heh, what a messed-up guild.' The master then quickly jumped down to the bar.

"Now then my boy. It's time to make this official." Makarov waved a hand to Naruto, who made his way towards him. Before he could reach the Old man, a boy with black eyes and spiky pink-colored hair stopped him in his track.

"Hey! My name is Natsu Dragneel and Erza told me that you're strong so I challenge you to a fight." He half-screames as his right fist engulfed in flames.

"**M**_o_**V**e!" Naruto wanted to try his cold-hearted side that Erza mentioned but he never expected that it will be this... well... cold. The pink-haired boy shivered in fear and quickly moved out of his way then back to his friend/rival.

"Ahhh! A male Erza! And he is even colder than you, Ice Princess." He said to his friend, Gray.

"Yeah..." 3...2...1... "What did you call me?!"

**(Back with Naruto.)**

"What is it Old man?" He asked curiously.

"Oh nothing. So, where do you want your guild mark?" He finished with his beer and gazed at the blond.

"Eh, just like this? No trials?" Makarov nodded while grabbing another mug.

"Well..." He removed his black shirt and pointed to his left chest. "Here!" The Master then proceeded to place the guild mark onto his chest.

"There! Welcome to Fairy Tail young man!" He jumped down from the bar and screamed. "LET'S PARTY"

* * *

End of Chapter 1

_**To be Continued.**_

* * *

_Next time in Chapter 2:_

_After an hour of being unconscious, a tired Naruto finally got up from the hard ground. The strange sensation about his magic __seemed to annoy him even more as he got to his feet and began dusting himself off all over._

_"Damned Elfman and his bloody Take Over." He finished as he finally looked around to see his guild, but..._

_"What the hell?! What happened to the guild and what's with that floating island!"_

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto**

**Alias:** N/A

**Current age:** 12

**Birthday:** October 10

**Gender:** Male

**Hair Color:** Blond

**Eye Color:  
°**Blue (Left)  
°Red with a Black ring around his pupil (Right)

* * *

-Magic:

***Mirage Eye (****_Shinkirou no Me_**): A Caster Magic that grants the power to interfere with the outer world by altering it.  
**Most of its abilities are still unknown.**

**~~~Distortion:** Allows the user to alter an object's shape, construction or even its direction.  
_Requirements:_ The user have to focus at least 3 seconds on the said object.

_Weak against:_ Rapid Fire

_Strong Against:_ Single Fire

***Darkness Magic: (_Yami no Mahō_)**: A Caster Magic which utilizes the element of darkness and allows users to manipulate and control destructive Dark Magic.

**~~~Dark Cloak:** The user release a massive amount of magic around his body what acts as a shield for a short period of time. With its sudden outburst, the spell is also capable to repel any kind of incoming attack in the first 2 seconds. (Depends on the user's strength).  
_Requirements:_ Decent amount of magic power.

_Weak against:_ Darkness Magic

_Strong against:_ Light Magic

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**Thank you for reading! Next chapter will begin with a Timeskip.**


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